Chapter4

The battered speedboat smashed through the freighter's one-kilometer perimeter.

A high-intensity searchlight suddenly struck down from the deck of the abandoned freighter, locking dead onto my boat. The glare was blinding; the silhouettes of the crane, the hull, and the kidnapper completely vanished into the harsh, pale halo. My only visual anchor was the encrypted terminal screen glowing in my palm.

"Stop the boat."

I yanked the throttle back, and the speedboat steadied amidst the raging waves.

"Let my son go!" I screamed hoarsely into the blinding light. "I'll stay as your hostage!"

After a few seconds of dead silence, a raspy, terribly familiar male voice drifted slowly over the public frequency. "Madam Elena. It's been a long time."

It was Marco, just as I feared. The same Marco accused of leaking family secrets and drawing in foreign enemies five years ago—the man Dante ordered hunted down, resulting in the slaughter of his seven-member family.

"Do you still remember this wandering ghost who should have rotted at the bottom of the sea long ago?" Marco chuckled, low and dark. "Five years ago, my entire family was wiped out. You didn't even spare the dog. I was loyal to Dante for decades, and that was my reward."

"I'm not here for money this time," his tone twisted into something paranoid and vicious. "I just want the Godfather here, right now, in person. I want him to look me in the eye in front of everyone and give me the truth—a declaration of my innocence!"

"The child is innocent!" I shrieked, my eyes nearly splitting with panic. "I'll contact him right now!"

"Innocent?" Marco's hostility exploded. "Was my five-year-old daughter not innocent? When the countdown ends, if Dante isn't here, your son feeds the sharks!"

01:52.

I frantically dialed Dante's highest secure line, practically grinding my teeth to dust as I roared. "Are you on your way?!"

"Almost." His voice carried a trace of impatience. "A gas leak alarm just went off at the safe house. I have to make sure Bianca evacuates to the car first."

01:38.

"Shut up!" I screamed. "The kidnapper is Marco! He didn't die!"

The line finally fell silent. "Marco? What does he want? I'm coming—"

01:20.

"He wants you to publicly tell the truth about what happened five years ago!" I stared at the flashing numbers on the screen. "If you don't show up, Leo dies!"

"I'm heading there now." Dante's tone turned instantly lethal. "Keep him talking."

01:05.

"There's no time! He doesn't care where you are, he's only watching the countdown!"

From the receiver, Bianca's voice filtered through. "Oh... Dante... I feel so dizzy..."

00:50.

"Dante, wake up—"

Dante’s voice darkened, carrying an arrogant certainty. "Elena, Marco wants the truth, not a corpse. He hasn't even gotten what he wants yet. He won't destroy the only leverage that can force me to speak before he sees me. That is his logic, and that is my judgment. Just wait."

The connection was unilaterally cut off.

00:23.

I stared at those digits, my nails digging violently into my palms.

00:00.

High above, the crane groaned with the screech of grinding metal. The load-bearing hemp rope snapped.

"No—!! Leo!!" That tiny, fragile white dot plummeted straight into the dark sea below. Dozens of massive great white sharks circling the area instantly descended into a frenzy, violently surging toward the splash. In less than two seconds, the ocean boiled with crimson!

The searchlight’s beam swept across the water, and I caught a fleeting glimpse of green on the crest of a wave before it vanished—the color of his dinosaur pajamas.

Like a madwoman, I shoved the throttle forward, plunging the boat straight into that boiling, bloody surf. Half my body hanging over the gunwale, I fired my gun to drive the sharks back, my bare hands clawing frantically through the violent waves.

"Leo!! Give me back my son!!"

My fingertips finally snagged a piece of fabric. I hauled it upward with every ounce of strength I possessed.

But what I dragged out of the water... was only a shredded half of his green dinosaur pajamas.

I collapsed to my knees on the deck, pressing that blood-soaked scrap of cloth tight against my chest as an inhuman howl tore from my throat.

The wind, the crashing waves, the electric hum of the searchlight—everything went dead silent. The only thing left was the sound of my own heartbeat, slamming against my eardrums, beat after heavy beat.

I didn't know how much time had passed when two engine sounds echoed from the distant sea, closing in. First came the sputtering motor of a battered trawler, followed by the high-pitched whine of a much faster speedboat ripping through the water.

The trawler arrived first. My father, Enzo, stood at the bow. He stared at me—kneeling there howling in despair in a puddle of blood—his eyes bloodshot, saying absolutely nothing.

Right behind it, the other boat pulled alongside. Dante vaulted onto my deck.

He looked at my face first—then his gaze dropped to my hands. That half of a dinosaur pajama top, dripping with bloody water, clung to my palms. He stared dead at it.

"Where is Leo?"

He gripped my shoulders and forcefully hauled me up from the deck.

"Where is Leo?!"

I slowly raised my blood-stained hands, holding that dripping half of the dinosaur pajamas right in front of his eyes.