CHAPTER 163
SKYLAR'S POV
The explosions rocked the ancient castle foundations, sending dust cascading from the medieval stonework as Henry's compound came under assault. Through the command center's bulletproof windows, I could see muzzle flashes in the darkness beyond the perimeter walls, the distinctive pattern of coordinated small-unit tactics that meant Jax, Harry, and Lucas had arrived with backup.
"Impossible," Henry snarled, his calm facade cracking as alarms began wailing throughout the facility. "No one knows the location of this compound."
"I do," I said simply. "And I've had months to share that information with people who specialize in making problems disappear."
His hand moved toward the pistol on his desk, but I was faster despite my advanced pregnancy. Years of training with the guys had taught me to compensate for physical limitations, and seven months pregnant simply meant I had to be more efficient with my movements.
The knife I'd kept hidden in my boot found his wrist before he could draw the weapon, pinning his hand to the wooden desk surface. His scream of pain was deeply satisfying, but I couldn't afford to enjoy it for long.
"Guards!" Henry called, his voice echoing through the command center.
"Are busy dealing with a three-pronged assault by some very motivated former special operations soldiers," I said, moving to the computer terminals that controlled the compound's security systems. "Did you really think I walked in here without an exit strategy?"
"You're seven months pregnant! You can't possibly—"
"Can't possibly what? Fight? Plan? Execute a complex infiltration mission while carrying your great-granddaughter?" I began typing rapid commands into the security system, unlocking doors throughout the facility. "Henry, you made the same mistake every man in my life has made at some point. You confused pregnancy with helplessness."
Through the window, I could see tactical teams moving through the compound's outer defenses with the kind of precision that meant this wasn't just a rescue operation. They were systematically dismantling Henry's entire organization, one defensive position at a time.
"This facility houses over two hundred trafficking victims," Henry said desperately. "If your friends breach the detention areas, those girls will be caught in the crossfire."
"Which is why I'm opening all the containment doors remotely. Those girls are about to become the safest people in this compound, because my team will die before they let innocent people get hurt."
The security monitors showed exactly what I'd expected – chaos in the guard positions, but careful, methodical evacuation of the detention areas. Lucas was coordinating the rescue operations while Harry and Jax cleared defensive positions with surgical precision.
"You planned this entire surrender," Henry said, understanding finally dawning. "The helicopter attack, the capture, even agreeing to work with me – it was all designed to get you inside this facility."
"It was designed to get you to bring me to the one place where I could access your complete operational network," I corrected, downloading files from his main servers while the battle raged outside. "Every trafficking route, every government contact, every financial account you've used to build this empire."
"Those files are encrypted."
"With algorithms that Lucas cracked six months ago when we first started tracking your money transfers." The download progress bar was moving steadily toward completion. "Amazing what you can accomplish when you're motivated by the thought of protecting your unborn child."
Through my earpiece, I could hear Jax's voice giving tactical updates. "Command center is secured. Two minutes to breach."
"Copy that," I replied. "Primary objective complete. Moving to extraction."
But as I prepared to leave the command center, Henry made one last desperate play. Despite the knife pinning his hand to the desk, he managed to activate what looked like a dead man's switch with his free hand.
"Containment protocol," he said, his voice tight with pain but still coldly determined. "If I don't input a cancellation code every twelve hours, this entire facility is flooded with nerve gas. Every victim dies, along with anyone trying to rescue them."
I stared at him, processing the implications. "You'd kill two hundred innocent people just to stop us?"
"I'd kill two thousand people to preserve what I've built. The only way to stop the gas release is for me to input the cancellation code personally."
"Then input it."
"Not until you agree to honor our arrangement. Work with me, train your daughter to be my heir, and I'll spare the lives of everyone in this facility."
Through the monitors, I could see Lucas leading groups of terrified young women toward the extraction points the guys had prepared. Most of them looked like they'd been imprisoned for months, maybe years. All of them deserved to live free lives instead of dying because I'd refused to compromise with a monster.
"What's your answer, granddaughter?"
I looked at his face, seeing the cruel satisfaction in his eyes as he forced me to choose between my principles and innocent lives. It was exactly the kind of psychological manipulation that had defined my relationship with every Mitchell man I'd ever encountered.
But it was also exactly the kind of situation I'd been preparing for since the night I'd decided to hunt down my father.
"My answer," I said, pulling a second device from my jacket, "is that you should have asked Lucas to explain how dead man's switches work before you tried to threaten me with one."
"What?"
"The device you just activated? Lucas replaced the nerve gas canisters with harmless smoke grenades about twenty minutes ago. Your entire security system has been compromised since the moment I walked into this compound."
Henry's face went pale as the implications sank in. "Impossible. The gas chambers are sealed, monitored..."
"By computer systems that my team has been infiltrating for months. Did you really think we'd launch an assault on a facility full of innocent people without ensuring their safety first?"
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor outside, along with voices I recognized calling my name.
"The only person who's going to die tonight," I said, watching his expression shift from triumph to terror, "is you."
"Skylar!" Harry's voice called from just outside the command center. "We're coming in!"
"All clear!" I called back, then looked down at Henry's bleeding hand pinned to his desk. "You know what the difference is between you and me, grandfather?"
"What?"
"You see other people as tools to be used or obstacles to be eliminated. I see them as lives worth saving, even when saving them costs me everything."
As the door burst open and three heavily armed men rushed in to secure the room, I realized that this moment represented more than just the end of Henry's criminal empire.
It represented the choice I'd made about what kind of person I wanted our daughter to see when she looked at her mother.
And for the first time in my life, I was completely proud of that choice.
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