Chapter 26 - The Ultimatum
Alejandro and Valeria escaped the chaotic charity gala through the underground kitchen corridors, flanked tightly by four heavily armed guards. They threw themselves into the back of the armored black SUV, the tires screeching loudly as the driver sped away from the hotel before the local police could lock down the perimeter.
Valeria was breathing heavily, her beautiful emerald gown torn at the hem. She looked at Alejandro, who was furiously reloading a spare magazine into his pistol in the dark cabin of the vehicle.
"He infiltrated a heavily guarded federal event," Alejandro growled, his voice vibrating with pure rage. "El Escorpión isn't just a street thug. He has serious financial backing. He bought off the hotel security."
"What do we do now?" Valeria asked, trying desperately to keep her hands from shaking.
Alejandro’s phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. It was an encrypted, untraceable number. He stared at the screen for a long moment before answering and putting it on speakerphone.
"Alejandro Ríos," a raspy, cold voice echoed through the vehicle. "You used to be a legend. Now you are just a soft, pathetic businessman attending charity balls in a tuxedo."
"Escorpión," Alejandro replied, his tone absolute ice. "You missed your shot. And now you are a dead man walking."
"I wasn't trying to kill you tonight, Alejandro. If I wanted you dead, that waiter would have used a bomb, not a gun," the rival boss laughed cruelly. "I wanted to send a message. I want all of the San Pedro distribution routes. I want your warehouses, your trucks, and your offshore accounts. You have exactly twenty-four hours to sign the entire network over to my lieutenants."
"And if I refuse?"
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"Then I don't send a waiter to a party," El Escorpión sneered. "I send fifty heavily armed men to your beautiful mansion. I will burn that house to the ground, and I will take the pretty little maid and your traumatized son as my personal prizes."
The line went dead. Alejandro slowly lowered the phone, his eyes completely hollow. He looked at Valeria, and for the first time in his entire life, the invincible cartel boss felt genuine, suffocating despair.
