Then she took a breath like she was jumping off a cliff.
“I want you to bring my mom home,” she said. “I know five dollars isn’t enough… but it’s everything I have.”
Victor stared at the bill in his hand.
Then he nodded.
Chapter 6: A Promise Made
“Go to Mrs. Nguyen’s store,” Victor said. “Stay there. Don’t leave.”
“You’re really going to help me?”
He knelt and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I give you my word,” he said. “Your mom will be home tonight.”
As Lily disappeared into the store, Victor turned to his men.
“Call everyone,” he said. “Full standby.”
They knew that tone.
This wasn’t business.
This was personal.
Chapter 7: The Line That Was Crossed
Within twenty minutes, crews mobilized across the city.
By nine fifteen, thirty men filled the back room of Roma Luna.
Victor laid out photos, maps, and one image that made the room go silent.
Lily’s mother.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
“They took a mother from my neighborhood,” Victor said. “That ends tonight.”
Chapter 8: The Warehouse
The Kozlovs were hiding near the old shipping yards.
Twelve men. Armed. Careless.
They never saw Victor’s crews coming.
Containers were cleared one by one.
Women were found. Rescued. Protected.
And in container seven… Lily’s mother.