CHAPTER 154
The voice that came through the facility's intercom system wasn't Colonel Kozlov's this time. It was older, more refined, and achingly familiar despite the years that had passed since I'd last heard it.
"Hello, granddaughter."
I felt the blood drain from my face as recognition hit me like a physical blow. Henry Mitchell - my father's father, the man who'd taught Jack everything he knew about cruelty and control. I'd thought he was dead, had hoped he was dead, but apparently the family talent for surviving the unsurvivable ran deeper than I'd realized.
"Grandfather," I said into the comm system, my voice steady despite the chaos of emotions churning in my chest. "I was wondering when you'd surface."
"Were you? How perceptive. Though I suppose you've always been the brightest of my bloodline."
Through the window, I could see the tactical teams holding their positions, but they weren't advancing. This wasn't an assault anymore - it was a negotiation with overwhelming force as the backdrop.
"What do you want?" I asked, though I suspected I already knew the answer.
"What I've always wanted, dear child. The continuation of our family legacy. You've made quite a name for yourself in recent years, haven't you? Building a reputation as someone who can dismantle criminal organizations with remarkable efficiency."
"I dismantle trafficking networks. There's a difference."
"Is there? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you've simply become very good at eliminating competition."
Harry and Lucas exchanged glances, both of them recognizing the psychological manipulation Henry was attempting. But I could see in their faces that part of his words were hitting home - the uncomfortable truth that our success in destroying trafficking networks had indeed consolidated power in the hands of the organizations we hadn't yet reached.
"Get to the point, Henry."
"The point, my dear granddaughter, is that you've become exactly what I always hoped you would be. A weapon capable of reshaping entire criminal landscapes. The only question is whether you'll use that weapon for your own benefit or continue wasting it on misguided altruism."
"I'll never work for you."
"Work for me? Child, you misunderstand the situation entirely. I'm not here to recruit you - I'm here to collect what's mine."
Jax looked up from his tablet, his face grim. "Skylar, he's not just talking about you. According to the intelligence chatter we're intercepting, he's been systematically targeting the children of everyone who's opposed our family over the years."
"What children?"
"The kids of federal agents who investigated your father. The families of prosecutors who put trafficking networks in prison. Anyone who's ever stood against the Mitchell family legacy."
The magnitude of what Henry was describing hit me like a sledgehammer. He wasn't just threatening me and my unborn daughter - he was waging war against every family that had ever opposed trafficking networks.
"You're building an army," I said, understanding beginning to dawn.
"I'm building a dynasty. One that will span generations and control criminal enterprises across multiple continents. And you, my dear, are going to help me build it."
"Over my dead body."
"Dead bodies are of no use to me. But pregnant women carrying the next generation of Mitchell blood? That's a different story entirely."
Through the comm system, I could hear orders being given in Russian and what sounded like Albanian. Henry wasn't just working with one criminal organization - he'd somehow managed to unite multiple trafficking networks under his leadership.
"He's been planning this for years," Lucas said, reading intelligence reports on his tablet. "Building alliances, eliminating rivals, positioning himself to take control when the power vacuum emerged."
"What power vacuum?" I asked.
"The one we created by destroying William's network and your father's operations. We thought we were making the world safer, but we were actually clearing the field for someone worse."
Harry moved away from the window, his expression darker than I'd seen it since the day we'd learned about William's betrayal. "There's something else. The intelligence reports show Henry's been collecting children specifically chosen for their genetic and psychological profiles."
"Breeding program," I breathed, remembering my father's twisted plans for creating more weapons like me.
"Enhanced breeding program. He's not just trying to create more traffickers - he's trying to create the perfect fusion of criminal genius and legitimate authority. Children who can grow up to infiltrate law enforcement, government agencies, international organizations."
"Children like our daughter," Jax said quietly.
The intercom crackled again. "I do hope you're beginning to understand the scope of what we're building together, Skylar. Your child isn't just part of our family - she's the foundation of our future."
I pressed my hand against my stomach, feeling our daughter moving restlessly as if responding to my elevated stress levels. The idea of Henry getting his hands on her, of raising her to become another weapon in his arsenal of human monsters, made me physically ill.
"We have to fight," I said, checking my weapon despite the obvious futility of our situation.
"We're outnumbered twenty to one by professional soldiers," Harry pointed out. "Fighting means dying, and dying means leaving our daughter orphaned."
"Surrendering means letting Henry turn her into the next generation of trafficking leadership."
"There has to be a third option," Lucas said desperately.
Before anyone could respond, explosions began rocking the facility. Not the kind of precise demolitions that would bring down the building, but targeted strikes designed to drive us toward specific escape routes.
"He's herding us," I realized. "The whole assault is designed to push us toward whatever extraction point he's prepared."
"Then we don't go where he wants us to go," Jax said, pulling up building schematics on his tablet. "The old monastery has escape tunnels built during World War II. If we can reach the catacombs..."
"That's exactly what he expects us to do," I interrupted. "Henry knows this building better than we do. He's probably got those tunnels covered."
Another explosion, closer this time, shook dust from the ancient stone ceiling. Through the smoke and chaos, I could hear tactical teams moving through the corridors, systematically clearing rooms as they advanced toward our position.
"Sixty seconds," I said, making a decision that would change everything. "That's how long we have before they reach this corridor."
"What are you thinking?" Harry asked, though the worry in his voice suggested he already knew.
"I'm thinking that if Henry wants me alive, if he needs our daughter for his plans, then he can't afford to let anything happen to either of us."
"Skylar, no."
"I'm thinking that sometimes the only way to protect your family is to put yourself between them and the danger."
I moved toward the door, my advanced pregnancy making me clumsy but not slowing my determination.
"We go together or not at all," Lucas said firmly, moving to block my path.
"Not this time. This time, you let me draw his attention while you find another way out."
"Absolutely not."
"This isn't a request. This is me using my authority as team leader to order you to protect our child."
As the sounds of approaching soldiers grew louder, I realized that all our planning and precautions had led us to this moment - where love and duty demanded impossible choices and there were no good options left.
Only the hope that sacrifice might somehow lead to salvation.
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