It was a small bedroom with a single mattress on the floor.

On top of a wooden crate in the center of the room sat a silver digital recorder.

A small red light was blinking on its side.

Beside it lay a silver locket.

I recognized the locket instantly.

It belonged to my sister, Isabella.

I walked over and picked up the recorder, my fingers stiff from the cold.

I pressed the play button.

A woman’s voice came through the small speaker, shaky and breathless.

It was Rachel Mercer. “Dante,” she sobbed.

“If you are hearing this, they have already taken us.”

“But you have to understand why we did it.”

“Isabella and I… we didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

I felt the blood run cold in my veins at the mention of my sister’s name.

“Kane found out about our children,” Rachel said on the tape.

“He threatened to take them.”

“He forced us to help him run the network.”

“We signed the papers.”

“We moved the money through the dummy accounts.”

“We had to protect them, Dante.”

The recording hissed with static, then Rachel’s voice grew desperate.