*Chapter 27: Shadows in the Mountains*
The private jet cut through the icy night skies, silent and sleek. Inside, the tension was thick. Elena sat in a leather seat, her eyes fixed on the satellite image of the remote Carpathian estate where her mother was believed to be held. The woman she had mourned for years. The woman Nikolai had stolen.
Rafael leaned against the cabin wall, arms crossed. "We're going into a fortress. With traps, thermal surveillance, and who knows what else."
Elena didn't look away from the screen. "Then we'll move like shadows. In and out before he even knows we were there."
Beside her, Rin tapped into the security grid. "I've managed to jam the outside sensors. You'll have a three-minute window. After that, the system resets."
"Three minutes is all I need," Elena replied.
***
They landed on a frozen airstrip an hour from the estate. Dressed in black tactical gear, Elena, Rafael, Luca, and Rin moved through the snow-covered forest in silence. Every step was calculated. Every breath visible in the cold air.
As they reached the outer perimeter, Rin's voice crackled through the earpiece. "Jamming in place. Clock's ticking."
Rafael planted explosives on the outer gate. With a soft hiss, the entrance opened. They slipped through.
Inside the compound, Elena moved like a ghost—fast, silent, deadly. Two guards fell without a sound. One to Luca's blade. The other to her silencer.
They reached the underground facility.
And there, in a glass cell, sat her mother.
Pale. Thin. But alive.
Elena froze. Her heart clenched.
"Mama…" she whispered.
Her mother's eyes widened in disbelief. "Elena…? Is it really…?"
Before they could speak more, the lights turned red.
An alarm blared.
"Sh*t," Rin cursed. "Backup power reset the system. You have less than two minutes."
Elena shot the glass lock, shattering it. Her mother fell into her arms, weak.
"I've got her," Luca said, taking her gently. "You lead."
The way back was chaos. Guards stormed the corridors. Bullets flew. Explosions lit up the snowy night.
Elena covered her team, her rage fueling every shot. She wouldn't lose anyone else.
They made it out just as the estate burst into flames from the timed charges they'd planted.
The chopper lifted off.
Rafael looked at Elena. "You went in for one woman…"
She looked out the window at the burning fortress.
"…and came out with a reason to end him."
*To be continued...*