CHAPTER 2: THE ULTIMATUM
I woke up to the smell of bleach and rust.
My head was pounding. My vision blurred. I tried to move my hands and felt zip ties cutting into my wrists. My arms were pulled behind me, tied to a metal chair.
I blinked hard, forcing my eyes to focus.
Warehouse. Massive. Empty except for metal hooks hanging from the ceiling and drains in the concrete floor. The kind of drains that made cleanup easy.
The kind of place where people disappeared.
"He's awake."
I turned my head. One of Dante's guards stood by a door, speaking into a radio.
My mouth tasted like blood. I worked my jaw. Nothing broken, but my whole face ached from where they'd hit me.
Footsteps echoed across the concrete. Multiple people.
Dante walked in first. He'd lit a cigar. The smoke curled up toward the exposed rafters. Behind him came four more guards.
And Sofia.
She wasn't dressed like before. No silk robe. She wore jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back. She looked small. Scared. Her eyes were red.
"Marcus—" she started.
"Shut up," Dante said without looking at her.
She flinched and went quiet.
Dante walked a slow circle around my chair. Taking his time. The cigar tip glowed orange in the dim light.
"Do you know what this place used to be?" he asked.
I didn't answer.
"Meatpacking plant. Closed down in the nineties. The owner owed my father money. Couldn't pay. So my father took the building and the owner's left hand." He stopped in front of me. "The hand was symbolic. A reminder that you don't take what you can't afford to lose."
"What do you want?"
"What do I want?" He smiled. "I want you to understand something, Marcus. When you hit me tonight, you disrespected me. In front of my men. In front of my woman. That kind of disrespect—it can't go unanswered."
"So answer it. Put a bullet in my head."
"Where's the lesson in that?" He took a drag from his cigar. "Death is quick. Pain is temporary. But humiliation—humiliation lasts."
Sofia shifted behind him. "Dante, you said you'd let him go—"
"I said I'd consider it." He glanced back at her. "Sit down and be quiet."
She sat on a metal crate near the wall, wrapping her arms around herself.
Dante turned back to me. "Here's what's going to happen, Marcus. I'm going to give you a choice. Option one: I kill you right now. Quick. Painless. One bullet to the head. You won't even see it coming."
I waited.
"Option two: you become my property. You work for me. Do whatever I tell you to do. Transport packages. Collect debts. Maybe I have you clean toilets in my restaurants. Maybe I have you stand on a corner and sell dime bags. Whatever I want, whenever I want it, for as long as I want." He leaned in close. "You become my dog, Marcus. And dogs don't talk back. Dogs don't hit their masters."
"Go fuck yourself."
He straightened up and laughed. Actually laughed. "See, this is what I like about you. You've got spirit. Stupid, suicidal spirit, but spirit." He walked over to a table against the wall and set down his cigar. "But let me ask you something. How's your mother doing? Elena, right? Still working double shifts at Saint Mary's?"
My blood went cold.
"And your sister. Isabella. Sixteen years old. Honor roll student. Wants to be a doctor." He picked up a tablet from the table and swiped through it. "She takes the number 7 train home from school every day. Gets off at Junction Boulevard. Walks three blocks to your mother's house. Usually around 3:45 PM."
"Don't."
"Don't what?" He looked at me with mock innocence. "I'm just making conversation."
"You stay away from them."
"Or what, Marcus? You'll hit me again?" He set down the tablet. "You're tied to a chair in my warehouse. You have no leverage. No power. No options. So here's what's actually going to happen. You're going to choose option one or option two. And if you choose neither—"
The door opened.
Two guards walked in, dragging two people between them.
No.
No no no no no.
Mom stumbled as they shoved her forward. She was still wearing her nurse's scrubs. Her hair was a mess. There was a bruise forming on her cheek.
Isabella was crying. Silent tears running down her face. One of the guards had his hand clamped on her shoulder.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?" I thrashed against the zip ties. The plastic cut into my wrists. Blood ran down my hands. "LET THEM GO!"
"Marcus!" Mom's voice cracked. She tried to run to me but the guard yanked her back.
"Mom—" Isabella's voice was small. Terrified.
Dante walked over to them. He moved like a shark. Slow and purposeful.
"Mrs. Rivera. Isabella." He nodded to each of them. "Thank you for joining us. I apologize for the rough treatment, but time was a factor."
"Please," Mom said. Her English was broken when she was scared. "Please, my son, he did nothing—"
"Your son broke my nose." Dante touched his face where I'd hit him. "That's not nothing."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please let him go—"
"Mom, don't beg him—" I started.
One of the guards hit me in the stomach. Hard. I doubled over, gasping.
"MARCUS!" Isabella screamed.
"Enough." Dante raised a hand. The guard stepped back. "Now that we're all here, let me explain how this is going to work."
He walked to the center of the room. All of us watching him. All of us trapped.
"Marcus was given two choices," Dante said. "Death or servitude. He chose neither. He told me to go fuck myself. Which means we move to option three."
He snapped his fingers.
One of the guards left and came back wheeling a large monitor on a stand. He turned it on. The screen glowed blue, then loaded a video feed.
A cargo ship. Docked somewhere. The camera angle showed the deck.
"This is one of my shipping vessels," Dante explained. "It leaves port in three hours. Its destination is Belgrade, Serbia. My associates there run a very profitable business. They're always looking for new inventory."
He looked at Isabella.
"No," I said. "No, you can't—"
"Your sister is sixteen. Young. Pretty. Virginal, I'm assuming." He said it casually. Like he was discussing the weather. "She'll fetch a high price. My Serbian friends will keep her for about six months, let her get broken in properly. Then she'll be sold to the highest bidder. Maybe a private collector. Maybe a brothel. Depends on how much fight she has in her."
Isabella made a sound like a wounded animal.
Mom was shaking so hard I could see it from across the room. "Please, she is just a baby, please—"
"And your mother," Dante continued, turning to her. "She's a nurse. That's valuable. I have contacts who run medical testing facilities. Pharmaceutical companies pay top dollar for human trials. Experimental drugs. New procedures. The kind of things that haven't been approved yet." He smiled. "Don't worry, Mrs. Rivera. You'll be helping science. Isn't that noble?"
"You're insane," I said. "You're fucking insane—"
"I'm practical." He walked over to my chair. "You disrespected me, Marcus. So I'm going to take everything from you. Your sister will spend the rest of her life being used by men who'll never even know her name. Your mother will be pumped full of chemicals until her organs fail. And you—"
He grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him.
"You'll be thrown into the ocean. Hands and feet bound. Weighted down. And you'll sink to the bottom knowing that your family is suffering because you couldn't control your temper."
"I'll kill you," I said. "I swear to God, I'll fucking kill you—"
"No. You won't." He let go of my face. "Because you'll be dead. And they'll be gone. And no one will ever know what happened to any of you."
He stepped back and checked his watch.
"It's 2:47 AM. The ship leaves at 6:00 AM. Your mother and sister need to be processed and loaded by 5:30. Which gives us just under three hours." He looked at me. "So here's what happens next. I'm going to untie you. My men are going to beat you until you can't stand. Then we're going to take all three of you to the docks. We'll load your family onto the ship. And then we'll take you out on a boat and dump you in the ocean."
He pulled out his phone and set a timer.
Three hours.
"Unless," he said, "you beg."
The room went silent.
"What?"
"Beg me not to do it. Get down on your knees. Kiss my shoes. Tell me you're sorry for disrespecting me. Tell me you're worthless. Tell me Sofia was right about everything she said." He smiled. "Humiliate yourself completely, and maybe—maybe—I'll reconsider."
I looked at Mom. At Isabella. Both of them staring at me with terror in their eyes.
"You have two minutes to decide," Dante said. "Starting now."
The timer on his phone began counting down.
2:00
1:59
1:58
"Marcus, please," Mom whispered. "Please, mijo—"
Isabella was sobbing. Full body sobs. One of the guards had to hold her up.
Sofia was still sitting on the crate. She had her face in her hands. Not watching.
1:45
1:44
1:43
"All you have to do is beg," Dante said. "Admit that you're nothing. Admit that you deserved everything that happened tonight. Admit that you're a broke, pathetic waste of space who should be grateful I'm even giving you this chance."
1:30
1:29
1:28
I looked at my mother. The woman who'd worked herself to the bone to raise me and Isabella after Dad died. Who'd never missed a day of work even when she was sick. Who'd believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself.
I looked at Isabella. My baby sister. The smart one. The one who was going to make it out. Who was going to be somebody.
1:00
0:59
0:58
"Please," Isabella said. Her voice was barely audible. "Please, Marcus, just do it. Please."
0:45
0:44
0:43
Dante was watching me. Enjoying this.
This was what he wanted. Not my death. My complete and total degradation.
0:30
0:29
0:28
I thought about Sofia's words. About being broke. About being worthless. About not being able to provide for anyone.
She was right.
I couldn't protect them. I couldn't save them. I couldn't do anything.
0:15
0:14
0:13
"Time's running out, Marcus," Dante said.
0:10
0:09
0:08
I looked at Isabella's face. Saw my dad in her eyes. Saw every hope Mom ever had for our family.
0:05
0:04
0:03
"WAIT!"
My voice echoed through the warehouse.
The timer stopped.
0:03
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I'll do it." The words felt like glass in my throat. "I'll do whatever you want. Just let them go."
"Say it properly."
I closed my eyes. "I'll beg. I'll kiss your shoes. I'll humiliate myself. Just please—please let my family go."
"Better." Dante walked over to me. "But that's not the deal anymore."
My eyes snapped open. "What?"
"The timer ran out. You missed your window." He smiled. "Now you only get one choice. You accept your punishment—the drowning—and maybe, maybe I let your family go. If you die bravely, if you don't fight it, I'll consider showing mercy to your mother and sister."
"You're lying—"
"Probably." He shrugged. "But it's the only option you have left. Die like a man, and there's a chance they survive. Refuse, and I guarantee they get on that ship."
I stared at him. Trying to find any hint of truth in his eyes.
There was nothing. Just cold calculation.
"Clock's ticking," he said. "The ship leaves in two hours and forty-three minutes."
I looked at Mom again. She was shaking her head, mouthing the word "no" over and over.
Isabella had collapsed. The guard was holding her up by her arms.
This was it. This was all I could do.
Die and hope he kept his word.
Die and hope they'd be spared.
"Okay," I said. "I'll do it. Just—just promise me you'll let them go."
"I promise to consider it." Dante nodded to his guards. "Cut him loose. Let him say goodbye."
One of the guards came over with a knife and sliced through the zip ties. My arms fell forward. I couldn't feel my hands. The circulation had been cut off too long.
"You have two minutes," Dante said.
I stumbled to my feet. My legs barely worked. I half-walked, half-fell toward Mom and Isabella.
Mom caught me. She was crying. Whispering prayers in Spanish.
"Mijo, no, no, you can't—"
"It's okay, Mom." I held her face in my hands. Hands that were still numb and bloody. "It's okay. I need you to listen to me."
"Marcus—"
"Isabella's going to finish high school. She's going to college. You're going to make sure of it." I looked at my sister. She was barely standing. "You hear me, Isabella? You're going to be a doctor. You're going to make something of yourself. You're going to have the life I couldn't give you."
"I don't want to," she sobbed. "I want you—"
"I know. I know, baby. But you have to. Promise me."
She nodded, unable to speak.
I pulled them both into a hug. Held them as tight as I could. Memorized the feeling of my mother's heartbeat. My sister's tears on my shirt.
This was it.
This was goodbye.
"Time's up," Dante said.
The guards pulled us apart.
Mom was screaming now. Full screams. Isabella was too weak to even fight.
"Take them to the back room," Dante ordered. "Lock them in. Make sure they can't see what happens next."
"NO!" Mom thrashed against the guards. "NO, PLEASE, NOT MY SON, NOT MY SON—"
"MARCUS!" Isabella reached for me.
I watched them being dragged away. Watched the door close. Heard their screams muffled behind steel.
Then silence.
Just me, Dante, Sofia, and six armed men.
"Let's go," Dante said. "We have a boat waiting."
They threw me in the back of a refrigerated truck. The kind used for transporting meat. Fitting.
Two guards sat across from me. Silent. Expressionless. Just doing their jobs.
Through a small window, I could see the city lights fading. We were heading toward the coast. The industrial area where cargo ships and fishing boats docked. Where the water was deep and black and nobody asked questions.
I tried to think of a way out. Some brilliant plan. Some last-minute escape.
There was nothing.
My hands were zip-tied again. My feet too. I couldn't even stand up.
The truck drove for what felt like hours. Every minute taking me closer to the ocean. Closer to drowning.
I thought about Dad. How he'd died when I was seventeen. Heart attack at work. Just dropped dead in the middle of his shift.
At least it was quick for him.
This was going to be slow. Painful. Terrifying.
The truck finally stopped.
The doors opened. Cold air rushed in. Salt air. Ocean air.
The guards grabbed me and hauled me out.
We were at an abandoned shipping dock. Rusted cranes towered overhead like skeletal giants. The ocean stretched out forever, black under a moonless sky.
A small motorboat was tied to the dock. Engine already running.
Another SUV pulled up. Dante got out. He'd brought Sofia with him.
She looked worse than before. Pale. Shaking. She wouldn't look at me.
"Bring him," Dante said.
The guards dragged me across the dock. My feet scraped against concrete. We stopped at the edge where the boat was waiting.
Dante lit another cigar. He took his time with it. Making me wait. Making me think about what was coming.
"You know what I find interesting about drowning?" he said finally. "It's one of the worst ways to die. The panic. The pain. The complete helplessness. Your lungs burning. Your body screaming for air. But you can't breathe. You can only sink."
He walked closer.
"Sofia told me you took her to the beach once. Coney Island. She said you tried to teach her to swim but she was too scared. Ironic, isn't it? That you're going to die in the same water you used to find so peaceful."
"Dante, please—" Sofia's voice was barely a whisper.
"Shut up." He didn't even look at her. "You caused this. You don't get to complain about it now."
He turned back to me.
"Any last words?"
I looked at him. This man who'd destroyed my life. Who was about to kill me. Who had my family locked in a warehouse somewhere, their fate uncertain.
"I hope you rot in hell."
He smiled. "Creative."
He nodded to the guards.
They started wrapping rope around my wrists. Thick rope. The kind that wouldn't break. They tied it so tight I couldn't feel my fingers anymore.
Then they did my ankles. Wrapped them together. Tied them with the same rope.
Then they brought out the chains.
Heavy industrial chains. The kind used to secure cargo. They wrapped them around my torso. Around and around. Layer after layer. The weight was crushing. I could barely breathe.
Finally, they attached a chain to a cinder block.
"Make sure it's secure," Dante said. "I don't want him floating back up."
One of the guards double-checked the knots. Tugged on the chains. Tested the weight.
"He'll sink like a stone, boss."
"Good."
Dante walked over to me one last time.
"You could have avoided all of this, you know. If you'd just walked away. If you'd just accepted that Sofia was never yours. If you'd just known your place." He took a drag from his cigar. "But you had to be a hero. You had to defend your honor. And now look where it got you."
He stepped back.
"Throw him in."
The guards grabbed me. Lifted me. I was too heavy with all the chains. It took three of them.
They carried me to the edge of the dock.
"WAIT!" Sofia screamed. She ran forward. "Dante, please, you said you'd let him go—"
"I said I'd consider it. I considered it. I said no." He grabbed her arm and yanked her back. "Watch. You need to see what happens to men who disrespect me."
"Please, I'm begging you—"
"You should have thought about that before you fucked me in his bed."
The guards held me over the edge. The water was ten feet below. Dark. Cold. Endless.
"Any last words?" one of the guards asked.
I looked up at the sky. No stars. No moon. Just darkness.
I thought about Mom. About Isabella. About the life I could have had.
"Tell my family I love them."
The guard nodded.
Then they let go.
I fell.
The impact with the water was like hitting concrete. The cold was instant. Shocking. It drove the air from my lungs.
And then I was sinking.
Fast.
The weight of the chains and the cinder block dragged me down. I tried to kick but my legs were bound. I tried to move my arms but the rope was too tight.
I could see the surface above me. A faint circle of light growing smaller and smaller.
I tried to hold my breath but the cold made it impossible. My chest was convulsing. My body was screaming for air.
The light was getting dimmer.
Darker.
I was fifteen feet down. Twenty feet. Thirty.
How deep was the water here? How far down would I go before I hit bottom?
My lungs were on fire. I couldn't hold it anymore.
I opened my mouth.
Water rushed in. Salt water. Freezing water. It filled my throat, my lungs, my nose.
I was drowning.
This was it.
This was how I died.
Alone. In the dark. Sinking to the bottom of the ocean while the man who killed me smoked a cigar on the dock above.
I thought about Isabella. About her dreams of being a doctor. Would Dante keep his word? Would he let them go?
Or were they already on that ship?
My vision was going dark. Not just from the water. From the lack of oxygen. My brain was shutting down.
I could feel my heartbeat slowing. Each beat weaker than the last.
This was death.
This was the end.
I closed my eyes.
And then I heard it.
A sound. Impossible. Clear and sharp like a bell in the darkness.
DING.
My eyes opened.
There was light. Blue light. Glowing in the water in front of me.
Letters appeared. Floating. Holographic.
SYSTEM ACTIVATION DETECTED
HOST STATUS: CRITICAL
OXYGEN DEPRIVATION: 87%
INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS
What the fuck—
ANALYZING HOST...
WILLPOWER: EXCEPTIONAL
SURVIVAL INSTINCT: MAXIMUM
COMPATIBILITY: 100%
INITIATING REBIRTH SEQUENCE
The blue light grew brighter. It was coming from inside me. From my chest. Spreading through my veins like liquid fire.
WARNING: TRANSFORMATION WILL BE PAINFUL
PROCEED? Y/N
I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything.
But somewhere in my dying brain, I thought: Yes.
YES.
ACKNOWLEDGED
BEGINNING TRANSFORMATION IN 3... 2... 1...
The pain hit like lightning.
Every cell in my body was burning. The ropes around my wrists started to smoke. The chains heating up. Glowing red.
My eyes snapped open wide.
They were glowing. Blue. Bright enough to light up the water around me.
The ropes snapped. Just disintegrated.
The chains cracked. Then shattered. Pieces falling away into the darkness.
My hands were free. My feet were free.
I could breathe. Somehow. The water didn't matter anymore.
TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE
WELCOME, HOST
SYSTEM: VENGEANCE PROTOCOL ONLINE
I hung there in the water. Twenty feet down. Forty feet down. However deep I'd sunk.
And I looked up at the surface.
At the faint light of the dock above.
Where Dante was standing.
Where they'd thrown me away like garbage.
NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: RISE
I smiled.
And I started swimming.
Not up.
Not yet.
I dove deeper. Into the darkness. Where I could think. Where I could plan.
The drowning victim was dead.
Something else had taken his place.
And Dante Morales had no idea what was coming for him.