Heidi reached under the driver's seat. She pulled out a Glock 19. She screwed the black suppressor onto the barrel with practiced, deadly efficiency and shoved the gun into her trench coat pocket.

She kicked the rusted side door open. The smell of old motor oil and damp concrete hit her face.

In the center of the massive, empty warehouse, a single yellow bulb swung from the ceiling.

Caleb and Seraphina were tied to metal chairs under the light. Caleb sat perfectly straight, his eyes cold and calculating. Seraphina's face was stained with tears, but she bit her lip to stay quiet. When she saw Heidi step out of the shadows, her eyes lit up.

Sitting on a stack of tires a few feet away was Bobbie Weeks. He was a heavy man with cheap tattoos covering his forearms. He took a drag from a cheap cigarette and laughed.

"You got guts, lady. Coming alone," Bobbie sneered.

Heidi stopped ten paces away. She looked at him like he was already a corpse. "Let them go."

Bobbie stood up. He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and flicked it open. He held the blade inches from Caleb's cheek.

"Fifty million in Bitcoin," Bobbie demanded, tapping a tablet on the barrel next to him. "Send it to this wallet, or the boy loses an eye."

Heidi didn't blink. A cruel, mocking smile touched her lips. "Do you really think you're smart?"

Bobbie frowned.

"You're a low-level thug from downtown," Heidi said, her voice echoing in the empty room. "Does your daughter, Brigette, know you're doing this? Or is she too busy playing a high-society whore at the Page estate?"

Bobbie's face went pale. His eyes darted around in panic. He didn't expect this rich doctor to know his real identity.

Anger flushed his face red. "Shut your mouth!" he roared. He pressed the knife closer to Caleb. "I'm counting to three! One! Two-"

Heidi drew the Glock.

Pfft.

The suppressed gunshot was a dull thud.

The bullet tore straight through Bobbie's right wrist. Blood exploded into the air.

Bobbie screamed like a slaughtered pig. The switchblade clattered to the concrete. He fell to his knees, clutching his shattered wrist.

Heidi closed the distance in three strides. She kicked his uninjured hand away and slammed the sharp heel of her stiletto down onto the back of his bleeding hand, pinning it to the concrete floor.

Bobbie shrieked in agony, thrashing on the floor.

Heidi pressed the hot muzzle of the Glock directly between his eyes. "Do you still want the Bitcoin?" she whispered.

Behind her, Caleb's sharp eyes darted around, landing on a jagged shard of rusted metal near the leg of his chair. He subtly shuffled his feet, using the sharp edge to saw relentlessly at the worn rope binding his ankles until it snapped. He quickly freed his sister, and pulled her behind a concrete pillar.

Bobbie sobbed, his face twisting in terror. "Please! I was just hired! I just wanted the money!"

Heidi ground her heel harder into his bone. "Who hired you? Give me a name!"

The pain broke Bobbie's mind. Desperate to find leverage, he screamed the one thing he thought would stop her.

"I know who you are..." Bobbie gasped, spitting blood as his voice dropped to a desperate, raspy whisper that only she could hear. "I know they are your real kids... You didn't die in that fire, Heidi Mcdaniel..."

The words echoed off the metal walls.

Heidi froze. Her pupils dilated violently. Her finger tightened on the trigger.

Chapter 9

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