Chapter 8 - The Hostage of Greed
The tranquility was brutally shattered at dawn.
As Julian’s private car pulled up to the main gates of Hargrove Industries in Manhattan, he received an urgent, encrypted alert from his estate security chief. Break-in at the Greenwich mansion. The perimeter guards have been neutralized.
Panic gripped Julian’s chest with icy claws. Richard Vance hadn't waited for the board meeting. Realizing he was facing federal prison and a lifetime behind bars, Vance had sent a hit squad to retrieve the evidence—and to eliminate anyone in their way.
"Turn the car around! Now!" Julian roared at the driver, his phone already dialing the emergency code to lock down the estate's safe rooms.
Back at the Greenwich mansion, the heavy oak doors of the east wing splintered under the force of a battering ram. Camila woke instantly to the sound of shouting and shattering glass. Heart pounding in her throat, she scooped Sofia into her arms, locking the reinforced bedroom door just as heavy boots echoed down the corridor.
"Open the door, bitch! Where is the lockbox?" a rough voice yelled from the hallway, accompanied by the brutal smashing of antique vases.
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Camila backed into the corner, tears streaming down her face as she clutched Sofia tightly to her chest. The child whimpered, burying her face in Camila's neck. Camila grabbed a heavy iron fireplace poker, her knuckles turning white. She wouldn't let anyone touch her baby. She had lost Mateo; she would die before she lost Sofia.
The door knob rattled violently, and with a deafening crash, the wooden door burst open. Two masked men stepped into the room, raising silenced pistols.
