Chapter 8 - THE BETRAYAL AT PIER SEVENTEEN
Victor Serrano had worked beside Leo for fourteen years.
He knew the shipping routes.
The security schedules.
The weaknesses in every company Leo controlled.
When Leo confronted him, Victor did not deny the accusations.
Instead, he smiled.
"You built an empire on fear, Leo. Don't pretend you're surprised someone learned from you."
Leo stared.
"You used my companies to traffic people."
Victor shrugged.
"You moved cargo. I made it profitable."
"People aren't cargo."
Victor laughed.
"Since when did you become a saint?"
Leo had no answer that could erase his past.
But he could decide what happened next.
He had already provided investigators with records connecting Victor to the shipments.
Victor did not know that federal agents were watching the meeting.
He reached inside his jacket.
Leo stepped backward.
"Don't."
Victor drew a gun.
Before he could fire, agents entered the warehouse.
Victor attempted to escape through a service door.
He was arrested near the loading dock.
Rey was found alive two days later, abandoned at a roadside motel.
He was treated for his injuries and taken into custody after investigators connected him to intimidation, assault, and trafficking-related offenses.
Sadi learned about the arrests while attending physical therapy.
She sat quietly for a long time.
Then she began crying.
Not because she missed Rey.
Not because she felt guilty.
Because the danger that had controlled her life for years was finally being confronted by people who could hold him accountable.
Her therapist handed her a tissue.
"How do you feel?"
Sadi looked down at her healing shoulder.
"I don't know."
May you like
Then she added:
"But I think I can breathe."
