104 "Beyond the Glass and Blood: Where Corporate Greed Feeds a Deadly Conspiracy, a Risen Ghost Shatters a Fake Dynasty, and the Ultimate Vengeance Begins at Dawn"

The service stairwell smelled of old dust, bleach, and raw industrial grease. We slammed the heavy fire door behind us, the metal latch clicking shut just as heavy shouts echoed from the corridor above.

“Down, Mr. Moretti! We have to go down!” Grace gasped, her breath coming in ragged, painful gasps as she stumbled down the concrete steps, the leather ledger clutched safely in her arms.

“Keep moving,” I ordered, keeping my hand on the pistol as we descended past the third and second floors, heading deep into the hospital’s subterranean belly.

The private hospital wasn't just a medical facility; its lower levels connected directly to the old municipal steam tunnels that ran beneath Manhattan—tunnels my freight crews had used for years to move cargo away from federal scrutiny when the docks were hot. If we could reach the maintenance bay on Sub-Level 4, my old transport van would still be parked in the secure contractor sector.

Bang, bang!

The heavy metal fire door above us rattled violently as someone tried the handle.

“They’re in the stairwell!” Grace cried out, her foot catching on a concrete lip. She pitched forward, but I caught her by the shoulder before she could hit the ground, hauling her upright.

“I’ve got you. Lean on me,” I said, gritting my teeth as a sharp pain flared across my healing ribs.

We hit the heavy steel door at the bottom of the stairs, marked SUB-LEVEL 4 - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. I slammed my shoulder against the crash bar, and it gave way with a groaning screech, plunging us into the cool, dark cavern of the underground parking garage.

Rows of silent, expensive sedans stretched out beneath dim yellow overhead lights. But thirty yards away, idling near the concrete exit ramp, was a matte-black Ford Transit van with Moretti Logistics stenciled faintly along the side panel.

My private driver, Nico, had set up that drop vehicle three weeks before his brakes were cut. Someone had left the keys in the magnetic lockbox beneath the chassis.