His Trusted Men Thought They Trapped the Ruthless Crime Boss — Until a 7-Year-Old Girl Pointed at His Security Screen

"What are you talking about?" Victor’s voice faltered slightly over the intercom, a sudden crack in his arrogant armor.

Dante didn’t answer him. Instead, he looked at Elara, placing a finger over his lips to tell her to stay completely silent.

When Dante built this penthouse, he knew better than to trust anyone—even his own security team. Beneath the main network that Victor had hacked, Dante had installed an analog, closed-circuit system wired entirely inside the walls.

With a final keystroke, the three glowing monitors in front of them violently flickered. The looped, black-and-white footage of the maid vanished.

Suddenly, the screens flooded with high-definition, infrared feeds of the entire penthouse.

Dante could see everything. He saw four heavily armed men stacking up outside the safe room door with explosives. He saw six more patrolling the hallways. And on the third monitor, he saw the grand foyer. There, kneeling on the marble floor with her hands bound, was Maria. Two guards stood over her, laughing.

"Victor," Dante's voice echoed through the hidden speakers in the ceiling of the hallway, making Victor physically jump. "Did you really think I’d let a rat manage my house without putting a trap in the walls?"

Before Victor could respond, Dante hit a massive red command key on the console.

PROTOCOL BLACK: INITIATED.

Instantly, every single light in the 40th-floor penthouse completely shattered. The electronic blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows slammed shut, blocking out the glowing city skyline. The entire multi-million-dollar estate was plunged into pitch, suffocating darkness.

Screams of confusion erupted from Victor’s men in the hallway. They were completely blind.

But Dante wasn't. He opened a hidden drawer in the desk and pulled out a sleek, suppressed tactical handgun and a pair of high-tech night-vision goggles.

He knelt down to Elara's eye level. "You stay under this desk. You do not come out until I say your name. Understand?"

Elara nodded, her terrified eyes reflecting the faint green glow of his goggles. "Are you going to bring my mommy back?"