No Mercy for the Traitor

Synopsis

The moment I realized I was being abducted at the shipping warehouse on Warehouse Four, my first instinct was to dial Arthur Hayes, my head bodyguard and supposed boyfriend. "Arthur, track my phone. Someone took me," I said. "Serena Sterling, are you seriously doing this right now?" Arthur shot back impatiently, his voice nearly drowning out the theatrical whimpers of Anna Collins in the background. "Anna is terrified of the dark, and I have to get her back to her apartment safely," he added defensively. "Look, your family owns the entire Eastshore District. Who in their right mind would actually kidnap you?" he scoffed. "Stop using these pathetic little stunts just to test me." The line went dead with an abrupt click. Across the room, the leader of the smuggling ring began stepping toward me, the blade of his dagger dripping with fresh blood. Staying calm, I tapped the screen of my smartwatch and dialed into an encrypted frequency. "Warehouse Four. I am pinned down," I murmured into the receiver. "Oh, sweetheart, it looks like your guard is slipping, so I guess I will just have to handle this myself," a magnetic voice purred from the other end. Arthur was nothing more than a pretentious lapdog who forgot his place. Since he could no longer do his job, it was time to put him down and replace him.