Chapter 18 - The Fortress on the Island
Midnight.
The dark, choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean slammed violently against the jagged black cliffs of Blackwood Island, Maine.
A heavy fog blanketed the dense pine forest surrounding a massive gray stone manor perched at the edge of the highest cliff.
Ten armed men in black tactical gear patrolled the perimeter with high-powered rifles and thermal optics.
Inside the grand library of the stone manor, Nathan sat in a high-backed leather chair near a roaring fireplace.
He was wearing a black tactical suit, his face thin and scarred from his months in prison, but his eyes burned with an unhinged, murderous insanity.
A heavy silver briefcase rested open on the table beside him, containing short-wave detonators and tactical maps of the Eleanor Vale Children's Estate in Virginia.
"We strike at dawn," Nathan hissed to his head operative, a tall, battle-scarred man named Kaelen.
"Burn the main house to the ground."
"I want Elias Vale to watch his daughter bleed before I put a bullet in his head."
Kaelen checked the magazine of his automatic rifle with a cold click.
"The perimeter sensors are active, Mr. Ashford. No one can approach this island without us knowing."
"Good," Nathan sneered, pouring himself a glass of whiskey with a shaking hand.
"They thought two hundred strikes would erase her."
"Tonight, I erase her entire bloodline."
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Suddenly, the roaring fireplace flickered and died.
The heavy iron chandelier hanging above the room went completely black as the entire mansion plunged into total darkness.
