Chapter 2 - The Stolen Child
To fully understand the absolute, unhinged cruelty currently freezing the blood in the bodyguards' veins, one had to look back exactly three hours ago. Poppy hadn't wandered into the elite New Orleans penthouse by accident. Her beautiful, torn sea-blue dress was a direct, horrifying result of a violent, aggressive raid orchestrated by Adrian Marchetti himself.
Poppy’s father was the brilliant, highly educated chief accountant for the entire Southern syndicate. He was a deeply honest, hardworking civilian who had recently discovered a massive, multi-million-dollar discrepancy in the mafia’s heavily guarded offshore holding accounts. Instead of rewarding his accountant for the discovery, the actual traitor in the organization had maliciously framed her father for the massive embezzlement. That corrupt traitor was Adrian.
Knowing the accountant was about to hand the encrypted digital ledgers over to the syndicate’s supreme boss in New York, Adrian had frantically dispatched his stern men in suits to violently ambush the family's quiet suburban home. They had aggressively kicked down the heavy wooden front door, completely shattering the peaceful evening and forcefully dragging Poppy's innocent parents away in heavy steel handcuffs. During the chaotic, terrifying struggle in the living room, Poppy’s sea-blue dress had been violently torn.
Adrian had specifically ordered his men to take the five-year-old child as ultimate collateral, maliciously intending to use her innocent life as leverage to force her father to sign a fake, legally binding confession before executing the entire family. Adrian was completely convinced he had flawlessly executed the perfect corporate assassination. He brought the little girl to his highly secure blue velvet penthouse, tossing her onto the expensive sofa like a piece of meaningless luggage.
He poured himself an expensive crystal glass of whiskey, entirely expecting the child to scream hysterically for her mother. But Poppy had remained completely silent, her highly observant, intelligent eyes actively scanning every single inch of the luxurious room, memorizing every lock, every shadow, and every face of the armed guards.
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Adrian, utterly amused by her strange, unnatural composure, had tossed the deck of memory cards onto the marble table, treating her like a pathetic, easily manipulated pet. He thought he was simply playing a childish game to pass the time before he committed murder. He had absolutely no idea he had just invited a brilliant, tactical genius to completely dismantle his entire criminal empire.
👉 Read Part 3 to witness the terrifying moment the mafia boss realizes he is playing a high-stakes game against an unstoppable mind.
