The Mafia Boss’s Dog Refused to Leave the Little Girl’s Coffin—Then They Heard Something Inside

The tunnel opened beneath the old ferry terminal.

Through gaps in the floor, we saw guards moving children into a rusted passenger boat. Some were awake. Others were carried.

The red lantern glowed above the wheelhouse.

Harlan stood on deck with a satellite phone. Enzo had built the route, but Harlan intended to erase everyone connected to it and sell the children before dawn.

Brooks's teams were delayed by a false emergency call across the borough. We had six trusted officers, eight of my men, Tony, Tomas, and Bruno.

Not enough for a clean assault.

So we cut the terminal power.

Darkness dropped over the dock.

Tomas used the restaurant's old delivery tunnel to reach the lower deck. Tony disabled the boat's fuel line. My men opened the passenger doors and carried children toward the terminal.

Bruno found the locked storage room.

Inside were seven more children and a woman named Marisol, who had been missing for four months. She had kept them quiet, fed them scraps, and memorized every guard's name.

"Harlan has a second boat," she warned. "A speedboat under the east pier."

A flare exploded overhead.

Harlan saw us.

Gunfire struck the terminal windows. Everyone dropped. Bruno covered the youngest child while Tomas pulled her behind a ticket counter.

I reached the upper deck and found Harlan beside the red lantern.

"You destroyed your own house for strangers," he said.

"They were never strangers."

He swung a metal hook. I blocked it with my forearm and drove him against the rail. The lantern fell, shattering on the deck.

Harlan smiled through the struggle. "You think this ends with me? Your politicians will protect the buyers. Your judges will seal the files."

"Then we open every file in public."

He pulled a knife.

Before he could use it, Bruno hit his legs.