Chapter 6 - The Phantom's Message
Dominic didn't react with anger. His posture became rigidly still, the terrifying composure of a wolf locking onto its prey.
"Lucian Vance," Dominic said smoothly. "You're trespassing on sovereign territory."
A dry, patronizing chuckle came through the line. *"Sovereign territory? Blackthorne House is built on dirt my family owned before your grandfather even learned English, Mercer. But I'm not calling to discuss real estate. I'm calling about Elena."*
Dominic glanced at me. I sat frozen on the chaise lounge, my heart thumping against my bruised ribs like a caged bird.
"Her name is Mara," Dominic countered, playing the game with icy precision. "She works for me. And anyone under my roof is under my protection."
*"How chivalrous,"* Lucian mocked. *"Does she still wear that charming, terrified expression right before she ruins a man's life? She let my father die, Dominic. She watched our docks burn, walked away with our trade routes, and left me to rot in an offshore federal black site for eight years. You think she took three bullets for your son out of love? She's a survivor. She trades in leverage. Right now, your boy is her golden ticket."*
"Keep my son's name out of your mouth," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a register so dark it sent a shiver down my spine. "Or I will skin you alive and feed you to the stray dogs on the West Side."
*"Threats won't save you, Dominic. You have forty-eight hours to deliver Elena to the abandoned grain terminal at Red Hook. If she isn't there by midnight tomorrow, I won't just target Caleb. I will dismantle everything you hold dear. I'll start with your banks, move to your ports, and finish by burning Blackthorne House to the foundation while you watch."*
"Try it," Dominic said coldly.
*"Check Caleb's backpack,"* Lucian whispered.
The line went dead.
A sudden, suffocating panic tore through the room.
Dominic dropped the receiver. Without a word, he tore out of the master suite, taking the stairs three at a time. I scrambled off the lounger, ignoring the searing fire in my shoulder, and followed him as fast as my wounded body would allow.
Down in the west wing, Caleb was fast asleep in his racecar bed, clutching his worn teddy bear.
Nolan stood guard near the door, jumping to attention as Dominic stormed into the room.
"Boss? What's wrong?"
Dominic didn't answer. He swept past Nolan to the small study desk in the corner, where Caleb's navy blue school backpack hung from the back of a chair.
With violent efficiency, Dominic unzipped the bag and dumped the contents across the desk: coloring books, broken crayons, a plastic dinosaur—
And a small, ticking electronic device wrapped in black tape, nestled inside a silver tin.
"Bomb!" Nolan yelled, reaching for his weapon.
"Clear the room!" Dominic roared.
"Wait!" I shouted, limping through the doorway and shoving my way between them. "Don't touch it! It's not an explosive!"
Dominic grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, pulling me back. "Get away from it, Elena!"
"Look at the wires!" I demanded, gasping for air as his grip tightened. "It's not an incendiary trigger! It's a localized radio transmitter! Lucian used them in Boston to track rival shipments. If you cut the red wire, it emits an alert signal. You have to ground the casing!"
Dominic stared at me, then at the ticking device. His eyes were wide, the adrenaline in his blood visibly warring with his instinct to protect his child.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice shaking with restrained fury.
"I helped design them when I was nineteen," I confessed, looking directly into his eyes. "Trust me."
Dominic held my gaze for three agonizing seconds. Then he released me, reached into his pocket for a thin titanium folding knife, and handed it to me.
"Do it."
My hands were trembling, but as soon as the cool metal of the knife touched my fingers, muscle memory took over. I bent over the desk, carefully peeling back the silver tin. Two wires—one crimson, one copper—were coiled around a tiny digital watch face.
I slid the blade between the copper lead and the metal frame, holding my breath.
*Snip.*
The ticking stopped. The tiny red LED went dark.
Silence rushed back into the room like a vacuum.
I exhaled a ragged breath, slumping forward against the desk.
Dominic walked over, his eyes scanning the neutralized device, then Caleb, who was still miraculously asleep under the heavy blankets, completely oblivious to the war circling his bed.
Dominic turned to Nolan. "Take Caleb to the subterranean bunker beneath the wine cellar. Lock him in with three guards. If anyone comes near that vault without my retinal scan, kill them."
"Yes, Boss." Nolan scooped up the sleeping boy, wrapping him in a blanket, and moved swiftly out of the room.
When the door closed, Dominic turned his full, terrifying focus back to me. He stepped forward until his boots touched mine, reaching out to grasp my chin, forcing my face upward.
May you like
"You're not a maid," Dominic whispered, his thumb tracing the sharp line of my jaw. "You're a ghost with the blood of a syndicate queen. And tomorrow night, you and I are going to Red Hook."
---
