Chapter 12 - The Ambush at the School
|
Mauricio drove back into the city with a dangerous, singular focus. The legal trap was set, but the FBI would take days to process the audio recording and secure an arrest warrant. He needed to keep Renata perfectly safe until the federal agents kicked Arthur's doors down.
He pulled up to the front of Renata's private elementary school at exactly 2:45 p.m., fifteen minutes before the final bell.
As he walked toward the main entrance, a cold spike of adrenaline hit his veins.
Parked illegally in the fire lane, directly in front of the school's glass doors, was a sleek, black Lincoln Town Car. Standing next to it, smoking a cigarette, was a massive man in a dark suit.
It was Carmine. His father's personal driver and heavy-handed enforcer.
Mauricio didn't hesitate. He broke into a dead sprint across the courtyard.
He reached the front doors just as the final bell rang. Children began pouring out of the classrooms, filling the hallways with loud, chaotic energy.
Mauricio shoved his way through the crowd of parents and students, his eyes frantically scanning the sea of small faces.
"Mr. Jacobs!" the school principal called out, stepping out of her office. "I'm so glad you're here. We had a bit of a confusion."
"Where is she?" Mauricio demanded, his voice echoing loudly in the hallway.
"Renata's grandfather sent a car for her," the principal explained, looking flustered. "He called the office twenty minutes ago and said there was a family emergency. One of his associates is signing her out at the front desk right now."
Mauricio didn't wait for her to finish. He shoved past the principal and sprinted toward the main office.
Through the glass windows of the reception area, he saw him. A second man in a dark suit was leaning over the reception counter, holding a clipboard. And standing next to him, clutching her backpack and looking absolutely terrified, was Renata.
"Renata!" Mauricio roared, throwing the office doors open so violently they slammed against the walls.
The man in the suit spun around, startled.
Renata didn't hesitate. She dropped her backpack and ran across the office, throwing herself into Mauricio's arms. He caught her, lifting her off the ground, burying his face in her neck, his heart hammering in pure, unadulterated terror.
"I've got you, baby," Mauricio whispered fiercely. "I've got you."
The man in the suit stepped forward, holding out his hands in a fake, calming gesture. "Mr. Jacobs, your father requested we bring the girl to the estate. It's just a family matter."
Mauricio slowly turned his head, his eyes burning with a murderous rage that made the large enforcer actually take a step backward.
May you like
"If you or my father ever come within a hundred feet of my daughter again," Mauricio said, his voice dropping to a low, demonic register that silenced the entire office, "I will not call the police. I will kill you myself."
He didn't wait for a response. He carried Renata out of the school, bypassing the shocked principal, and marched directly toward his car, leaving his father's men empty-handed and terrified.
