Chapter 17 - The Shadow Threat
The transition from a quiet life in Queens to being the most highly protected woman in the city took an emotional toll. Maya spent her days in the secure suite, reading books and trying not to watch the obsessive news coverage regarding the impending trial.
On Friday evening, she received a strange notification on her personal cell phone. It was an email from an encrypted server. She opened it cautiously.
Her blood ran completely cold.
Attached was a high-resolution photograph of her father sleeping in his new hospital bed, taken from the hallway through the glass window. Below the terrifying image was a single, typed sentence: Retract your official police statement tomorrow, or his oxygen gets permanently shut off.
Maya dropped the phone on the marble floor as if it burned her flesh. She couldn't breathe. The walls of the luxurious suite suddenly felt like a massive, suffocating trap.
She ran to the door, yanking it open. Vance was standing guard in the hallway, looking immediately alarmed by her absolute panic.
"Maya, what's wrong?" Vance demanded, his hand dropping instinctively to the concealed weapon at his waist.
"They found him," Maya choked out, tears of sheer terror streaming down her face. "Someone sent me a picture of my dad. They said they will kill him if I testify!"
Vance didn't ask questions. He immediately pulled out his encrypted radio. "Code Red at St. Jude’s. Lock down the VIP wing. Nobody goes in or out of Thomas's room without my verbal authorization. I want a visual on him right now."
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A tense, agonizing thirty seconds passed before the radio crackled. "Visual confirmed. The target is safe and sleeping. The corridor is fully secured."
Vance let out a slow breath and looked at Maya, his expression grim. "He is safe. But we need to call Mr. Sterling immediately. The syndicate has officially made their move."
