Page 50 of Auctioned Innocence

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4 p.m.: Marco’s team moves into position at all exits.

6 p.m.: Irish assets neutralize perimeter guards.

8 p.m.: Auction begins.

8:30 p.m.: Power cut to main building. Backup generators engaged.

8:45 p.m.: Second power cut, taking out backups. Complete darkness.

9 p.m.: Extraction through east wing service corridors.

It’s a solid plan. Clean, efficient, with redundancies built in at each stage. The kind of operation I’ve run dozens of times before.

So why does it feel inadequate? Why does every scenario I run end with Sofia in danger, with bullets flying too close to her, with risks I’m not willing to take?

Because this is personal.

Because for the first time, I’m not just an enforcer or a family’s weapon.

I’m a man trying to save the woman he?—

I shut down the thought before it fully forms.Dangerous territory.

Focus on the mission. On getting her out. On getting all of them out. Then burning this whole corrupt network to ash.

Starting with Dominic Calabrese.

I check my weapons one last time, reviewing mental maps of the building, security rotations, and potential threats.

Tomorrow I see Sofia.

Tomorrow I set the endgame in motion.

Tomorrow, Madame Rouge learns what happens when you cage a Renaldi.

And when I come for what’s mine.

9

SOFIA

“Three minutes until shift change.” Maisie’s whisper is barely audible as we’re escorted back to our rooms after the final viewing.

Her lips barely move, a skill I’m guessing she perfected during her five days in this hell. “The new guard always checks his phone first. Thirty seconds of distraction.”

I give her the slightest nod, my face a neutral mask for the cameras.

After that disaster with Reed at the third viewing, security has been heightened.

More guards.

More watchful eyes.

But also more predictable patterns, if you know how to look.

My heart pounds against my ribs, but my hands are steady.

Marco’s training is kicking in when I need it most.

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