Chapter 17 - The Trojan HorseBy nightfall, the San Pedro estate was locked down tighter than a military black site.
Hector had stayed behind with forty of Alejandro's best men. Floodlights illuminated the sprawling grounds. Snipers were positioned on the roof. Not a single vehicle was allowed within a mile of the iron gates.
Valeria sat in the master suite, reading a bedtime story to Mateo. The little boy was exhausted, finally drifting off to sleep with the golden retriever puppy curled up at his feet.
Once Mateo’s breathing evened out, Valeria closed the book. She walked to the window, looking out over the illuminated compound. Everything looked secure.
But a strange, cold knot of dread began to tighten in her stomach.
A king is only as strong as his castle. And a castle can always burn.
El Fantasma’s words echoed in her mind.
Why would Fantasma use Laredo as bait? Alejandro was a tactical genius; Fantasma had to know Alejandro would spot the trap. Unless... Alejandro leaving wasn't about isolating the king.
It was about leaving the castle unprotected.
Valeria turned away from the window. She walked quickly to her dressing room, pulling a secure, encrypted tablet from the safe. She pulled up the perimeter security logs. Everything was green. Check-ins were happening every fifteen minutes.
She opened the personnel manifest for the night shift.
Her eyes scanned the names.
Rodriguez. Martinez. Garza. Silva...
She stopped. Her blood ran ice-cold.
Officer Diego Silva.
Two days ago, Valeria had been reviewing the cartel's payroll to optimize the offshore accounts. She had seen Diego Silva's name. His account had received a massive, untraceable wire transfer from a shell corporation based in Sinaloa. She had flagged it for Alejandro to review the next morning.
Silva was on duty tonight. Guarding the subterranean generator room.
Valeria snatched the radio from the nightstand.
"Hector," she barked into the mic, her voice laced with absolute panic. "Where is Diego Silva?"
Radio static hissed. Then, Hector’s voice came through, sounding confused. "He's in the basement, Señora. Monitoring the backup grid. Why?"
"Get men down there immediately! He’s a mole! He’s going to—"
Before she could finish the sentence, the lights in the mansion flickered and died.
Total darkness swallowed the estate.
A second later, a massive explosion rocked the foundation of the house. The heavy blast doors of the generator room had been blown from the inside.
The perimeter floodlights shut off. The security cameras went blind. The electronic locks on the iron gates disengaged.
"Hector!" Valeria screamed into the radio.
Gunfire erupted from the front lawn—the heavy, deafening roar of a coordinated assault.
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"They're inside the walls!" Hector yelled over the sound of automatic weapons. "Señora, lock down the suite! We are being swarmed!"
El Fantasma hadn't just set a trap in Laredo. He had bought a Trojan horse. And now, the Cartel de las Sombras was inside the gates.
