Chapter 5 - THE PHANTOM NETWORK
By ten-fifteen PM, Dante Vane and his twelve elite contractors had arrived at the lakeside safe house through the hidden marine tunnel. They were silent, dangerous men clad in unmarked grey armor, carrying silenced assault weapons and explosive charges.
While Dante’s men prepped their gear in the garage, I sat at the kitchen counter watching the four boys.
They were sitting around the low coffee table in the living room, drawing pictures with a pack of crayons Elena had found in a drawer. Watching them interact was eerie and magical. They spoke in their own half-formed language—a rapid series of whispers, hand gestures, and shared giggles that only identical quadruplets could understand.
Lucas, the quietest of the four, walked over to where I was loading spare high-capacity magazines. He stopped beside my stool, holding out a piece of paper.
I laid my rifle down and took the drawing.
It was a sketch drawn in black and red crayon. It showed a large house, four tiny figures inside a square box, and a giant figure standing on top of the house holding a sword, fighting off dark shadows.
"That's you," Lucas pointed his crayon at the giant figure. "Elena said you were the dragon slayer."
A rare, genuine smile broke across my face. "Did she?"
"Yeah," Lucas nodded solemnly. "She said you wouldn't let the shadows hurt us."
I leaned down, placing my hand on his small shoulder. "She was right, Lucas. No shadow touches this room while I breathe. I promise you that."
He gave me a firm nod, satisfied with my answer, and trotted back to his brothers.
Elena stepped out from the kitchen, holding a steaming mug of black coffee, which she set down beside my ammunition crates.
"They look like you, but they have Sofia's heart," she said softly, watching the boys. "They are sweet children, Alejandro. They don't know cruelty."
"They'll never know it," I swore, taking a sip of the coffee. "Elena... how did Victor find them? You said Dr. Vance was killed three days ago?"
"Yes," Elena nodded, her face hardening. "Julian Vance was a good man, but he was getting old. His mind was slipping. He kept paper journals in a wall safe behind his office desk. He swore to Sofia he would burn them, but he couldn't bring himself to destroy the records of his greatest medical miracle. Three nights ago, someone broke into his home office, shot him, and blew the safe."
"Victor didn't just stumble on those records," I realized aloud, my mind piecing together the political chessboard. "Victor has been planning a coup for months. He used Dr. Vance’s death as his trigger. If he brought those four boys to the commission, he could claim they were illegitimate, hold them hostage, and force me to surrender the throne to protect them."
"And if you died in the attack on the mansion?" Elena asked, her voice trembling.
"Then he would raise them himself," I said, a cold horror settling over me. "He would raise my four sons to be his loyal lieutenants, turning my own blood into his personal army."
Dante Vane stepped into the kitchen, pulling on a black tactical glove.
"We're ready, Moretti," Dante reported, his harsh voice cutting through the heavy atmosphere. "My tech guy intercepted Victor’s comms. He’s called a emergency commission meeting at the Grand Plaza Hotel downtown for midnight. He’s going to announce your 'untimely death' in a tragic gas explosion at your estate and demand the syndicate vote him in as supreme commander."
I stood up, adjusting my heavy tactical vest, and slid two high-caliber pistols into my chest holsters.
"He wants a public coronation," I said, racking the slide of my primary assault rifle. "Let's give him a performance he'll never forget."
I walked into the living room one last time. All four boys looked up as the heavy tactical boots clacked against the floor.
I knelt down in front of them, looking at each of their small, identical faces—Mateo, Leo, Nico, and Lucas.
"I have to step out for a little while," I told them. "Elena is here. These doors are locked with iron walls. Nobody gets in."
Leo, who had my exact stubborn jawline, looked at me intently. "Are you going to fix the house?"
"I'm going to fix everything, Leo," I replied, pressing my thumb gently against his cheek. "When I come back, we're going home."
May you like
I stood up, pulled my black mask over my face, and turned to Dante.
"Let's go execute a traitor."
