<h4>Chapter 140: Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY: The Vi Of Traitors</h4>


    Kendrick’s POV


    The moment I stepped out of the police station, the afternoon sun hit my face, but it did nothing to warm the ice sitting heavy in my chest. Mason walked beside me, silent and tense, while Kelvin kept cracking his knuckles like he was preparing to murder someone with his bare hands. Honestly, at this rate, I wouldn’t stop him.


    Then I spotted Gary leaning against his car, arms folded, looking like he’d been waiting for years. The moment he saw us, he pushed off the vehicle and marched toward us with an urgency that made my pulse quicken.


    "What’s with that face?" Kelvin asked him immediately. "Tell me you found something useful."


    Gary didn’t speak. He just brought out his phone, unlocked it, and held it up. "I had someone follow him."


    "Follow who?" Mason asked.


    "Curtis," Gary replied. "The real one."


    My heart stopped for half a second. "Show me."


    He tapped the screen, and the video began. The shaky footage showed Curtis stepping out of a dark-colored car, hood up, sunsses on, moving like someone who believed the whole world belonged to him. Then the camera followed him as he walked up to the tall iron gates of a vi I didn’t recognize.


    The gates opened automatically like they had been expecting him.


    Inside, four people stood waiting.


    Zain... Mark... Callie.. Piper and Celeste.


    The very sight of them made my blood heat up like boiling oil.


    The video ended there.


    For a moment, none of us breathed.


    Then Kelvin exploded. "FUCK! They’re all together?! All of them?!"


    Gary nodded once. "And the person sent the address too."


    Mason immediately held up a hand. "How trustworthy is this person? And how are you sure this address isn’t a trap?"


    Gary shot him a look. "Because he’s not just ’someone.’ He’s a former special force officer. Retired early due to injuries. He doesn’t do nonsense. He doesn’t joke with intel. And he sure as hell doesn’t y with false leads."


    Mason’s eyebrow twitched, showing that he was impressed. "Former special forces, huh?"


    "He was my instructor when I was younger," Gary added quietly. "If he says this is real, then it’s real."


    That sealed it for me.


    I didn’t waste time. "I’m going back inside. I need to tell the chief everything."


    Mason nodded. "Good. While you do that, I’m calling in the people I trust. We’ll need backup on this."


    Kelvin cracked his knuckles again and muttered, "Someone is dying tonight," like it was a promise carved into stone.


    I walked back toward the entrance of the police station, my steps long and rough, the anger burning under my skin like acid. I had held myself together for two days, two days of silence, two days of no leads, two days of praying Christy wasn’t being hurt somewhere and now that everything was falling into ce, it felt like the world was shifting into motion again.


    The chief was still standing in the hallway talking to two officers. The moment he saw me, he dismissed them and approached.


    "Is there a problem?" he asked.


    "Yes," I answered, and my voice came out harder than I intended. "New intel came in, we know where the real Curtis is and not just him, Zain, Mark, Callie, and Celeste. They are all in one vi."


    The chief’s expression turned sharp. "Are you sure?"


    "Yes."


    "Good." He motioned for me to follow as he began giving orders. "We’ll handle the legal and tactical arrangements. If this vi is housing wanted criminals, then we’ll treat it as a coordinated arrest operation."


    I shook my head. "No, Chief. This is a rescue operation. Christy is inside."


    The chief paused for two seconds, then nodded once. "Then we move twice as fast."


    Beside him, officers started running around, grabbing weapons, radios, vests. The atmosphere changed instantly, shifted from routine police work to the kind of tension that tells you things are about to get bloody.


    When I stepped back outside, Mason was already on the phone barking orders. Kelvin was pacing like a trapped lion, and Gary was scrolling through the footage again, analyzing every angle like he wanted to burn it into his skull.


    "How did it go?" Kelvin asked the moment I returned.


    "The chief is assembling his units now," I replied. "He’s taking it seriously. He wants this done fast."


    "Good." Kelvin cursed under his breath. "That idiot Zain... I swear if Christy has even a Scratch... "


    "We’ll get her back," I cut in, even though I was saying it more for myself than him.


    Mason hung up his call and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Alright. I’ve got military officers on standby. They’ll meet us at the location. They’re not regr soldiers—these ones are trained for fast infiltration and rescue."


    Gary let out a low whistle. "Looks like tonight’s gonna be wild."


    No oneughed.


    We were far past that stage.


    Hourster, we arrived near the vi. The roads were dead silent, the kind of quiet that makes your heart beat louder in your own ears. The vi was huge, built like the type of ce rich criminals hid when they wanted to pretend they were royalty.


    Police cars were parked discreetly around the perimeter. ck vans filled with armed officers moved into position. Mason’s military contacts were already scanning the area,municating in low voices through headsets, movements precise and calcted.


    The chief walked up to us. "We’re surrounding the entire property. No one goes in, no onees out."


    I nodded. "Good."


    Because if Curtis tried running...


    If Zain tried using Christy as leverage...


    If any of them thought they could walk away from this...


    They were wrong.


    "This is their end," I said quietly.


    Kelvin exhaled shakily beside me. "Let’s get my sister back."


    My fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked.


    We were ready.


    Tonight, we attack.


    The vi stood in the distance like some arrogant monument, all tall walls and towering pirs, sitting there as if it wasn’t housing the biggest collection of snakes alive. My pulse was already drumming, but seeing the ce with my own eyes made the anger spike so hard I had to take a breath just to stay rational.


    Mason was standing beside one of his men, discussing strategy in low, clipped tones. Kelvin wasn’t talking at all anymore. His jaw was clenched, eyes fixed on the vi like he wanted to burn a hole straight through the concrete. Gary paced in small circles, muttering curse words under his breath.


    Everyone was at their breaking point.


    Everyone wanted blood.


    The chief came back toward us, his expression sharp. "Units are in position. We’re waiting for your order to move."


    My chest tightened. Christy’s face shed in my mind, the way she always tried to hide her fear even when she was shaking inside. I didn’t know what those bastards were doing to her. I didn’t know if she was hurt, or scared, or tied up somewhere praying for us to find her.


    I just knew I couldn’t waste another damn second.


    "Move in," I said quietly.


    Mason nodded once. Then he tapped his earpiece. "All units, prepare to breach. No casualties on our side. And watch for hostages."


    The air shifted instantly.


    Boots hit the ground in quiet synchronization. Guns clicked. Vests tightened. The tension was almost physical, like a dark cloud pressing down on all of us.


    Kelvin stepped closer to me. "After this... when we get her out... I don’t care who I have to kill. Those people in that house? I’m not letting one of them walk away."


    "Neither am I," I replied.


    Gary scoffed. "I already have a list of who dies first."


    Mason smirked slightly. "Focus. We’re not spilling blood unless we have to. Our main job is rescue."


    Kelvin looked at him. "And after she’s rescued?"


    "After that," Mason said, "I’m not stopping anyone."


    That was all we needed.


    The chief raised his hand, signaling the units. They began spreading out some heading to the back of the vi, some climbing walls silently, others positioning themselves at the gates.


    Every crunch of gravel under a boot made my heart pound harder and every whisper through the radios made my grip tighten.


    I felt like the world was holding its breath.


    Then Mason’s voice cut through the earpiece.


    "In position, waiting for the final signal." The chief looked at me.


    It was my call.


    I closed my eyes for a second, not to calm down, because there was no calming down. My chest was a furnace and my mind was a single thought screaming over and over again:


    Christy... Christy... Christy.


    I opened my eyes. "Do it."


    The chief dropped his hand.


    And the world exploded.


    A loud crash echoed through the entire estate as officers rammed the front gate. Men shoutedmands, boots thundered across the pavement, and the vi’s lights flickered like they were scared of what wasing.


    "GO! GO! GO!"


    Police poured in from every angle.


    Kelvin sprinted forward before anyone could stop him. I grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back. "Don’t be stupid! We’re doing this clean and smart."


    He growled but nodded.


    Mason led us through the broken gate with his military officers nking us. They moved like shadows, silent, fast and deadly. Gun barrels pointed toward windows and corners and every step was calcted.


    My heartbeat was loud, painful, almost drowning out the noise of the operation.


    One of the soldiers muttered into his radio, "East corridor cleared. No visual on target."


    Another voice replied, "West side secure. No contact."


    A third whispered, "The ground floor looks empty."


    Empty?


    A bad feeling crawled up my spine.


    Mason frowned and motioned for us to move deeper.


    The vi’s interior lights turned on suddenly, illuminating a grand hallway with marble floors and a chandelier that almost blinded me.


    But there was no sound.


    No footsteps.


    No panicked screams.


    No scrambling.


    Nothing.


    Just pure silence.


    "This is too quiet," I muttered.


    Kelvin exhaled angrily. "If they moved her.. "


    "No," I cut in. "If they moved her, the cars would still be warm, the gates would show fresh activity. They’re here."


    Gary scanned the walls with his eyes narrowed. "They’re hiding. These cowards love ying games."


    A soldier came rushing toward us. "Sir! We found something."


    We followed him quickly, turning through another hallway, then entering what looked like a living room.


    Then I saw a phone lying on the table. My stomach twisted and I had a bad feeling.


    Kelvin cursed loudly. "They left a phone for us?!"


    Before I could answer, a screen on the opposite wall suddenly lit up.


    And just like that, all of us froze.


    The video ying was live.


    A dark room.


    A single hanging bulb.


    And Christy... tied to a chair.


    Her head was down, her hair messy, her breathing uneven but visible. She looked exhausted, terrified, and way too still for my liking.


    "CHRISTY!" Kelvin yelled, instinctively taking a step forward like he could reach her through the screen.


    I grabbed him again, harder this time. "Don’t..... Stay sharp."


    Because I saw the shadow move behind her. A tall figure stepped into the light, and my heart turned into pure fire.


    Of course it was him... Curtis.


    He lifted Christy’s chin forcefully, revealing the bruise on her jaw. My vision turned red for a full second before my brain snapped back.


    He stared into the camera like he could see me... Then he smiled.


    My fists shook as the only thought I had at the moment was to kill him.


    "Oh, that bastard is dead," Gary growled.


    Mason cursed under his breath. "This confirms it, this vi is rigged for surveince.... They knew we wereing."


    The screen flickered again and Christy flinched in the chair, Curtis leaned down, whispered something in her ear, and she shook her head weakly.


    Kelvin lost it. "WE MOVE NOW!! "


    "WAIT!" Mason ordered sharply. "Look."


    Curtis stepped back and another figure entered the frame.


    Zain.


    Seeing him made my skin crawl. He held something in his hand. A remote and he waved it at the camera.


    Then his voice echoed through hidden speakers:


    "If you want her alive, you better hurry. We left you a little surprise in the basement."


    Then the screen went ck.