Chapter 2 - The Shadows at the Door
The taller of the two men held a thin, suppressed firearm low against his thigh, half-concealed by the hem of his dark jacket. He was completely bald, with pale, sunken features and a calm, predatory demeanor that made the room freeze.
""Reunions are always so messy,"" the man said, his accent clipped and European. ""Especially when family members stage elaborate funerals to steal thirty million dollars from an offshore escrow fund. Isn't that right, Julian?""
Julianna backed toward the corner of the room, behind my mother’s decorative balloon arch, tears now streaming down her cheeks. ""Marcus, I brought him to you. I did what you said! You told me if I cornered him in front of his new life, he’d give up the encryption keys to protect his wife! Now let me go!""
""You did adequately, Julianna,"" Marcus replied without looking at her. ""Except you forgot the basic rule of our employer. Loose ends don't get pension plans.""
Ethan—or Julian, a man whose real history I knew nothing about—moved with frightening speed. In a fraction of a second, he shoved me behind the heavy oak dining table and tipped the heavy mahogany surface sideways, creating an immediate wooden barrier between my family and the intruders.
""Everyone down! Behind the kitchen island! Now!"" Ethan bellowed.
Screams erupted throughout the house. My sister grabbed my mother and dragged her toward the hallway leading to the laundry room and garage. My father, however, did not flinch. Despite his sixty-two years and silver hair, he stepped forward, his hand slipping inside his blazer.
""You're out of your jurisdiction, Marcus,"" my father said evenly. ""This house is registered under private civilian trust, but the perimeter cameras feed directly into the federal field office two miles away. You have less than four minutes before this block is crawling with tactical units.""
Marcus smiled thinly, entirely unbothered by the warning. ""Your cameras went dark fifteen minutes before we stepped onto your street, Richard. You used to be very good at corporate security, but you retired ten years too early. The technology has evolved. Now, Julian... the flash drive in your velvet jewelry box. Give it to me, and perhaps this beautiful suburban baby shower won't end in tragedy.""
My breath hitched. The velvet box. The small jewelry box Ethan had pulled from his pocket right before we were supposed to cut the cake. I had assumed it was the diamond eternity band he had promised me for carrying our child through so many difficult months.
I looked down at the floor near my feet. When the table had been overturned, the box had slipped from Ethan's jacket pocket, skittering across the hardwood floor until it came to rest against my left shoe.
Ethan saw it too. His eyes met mine, wide with terror—not for himself, but for me.
""Ava, don't touch it,"" he whispered frantically. ""Just slide back toward the hallway.""
Marcus followed Ethan’s gaze straight to my feet. A slow, cruel grin spread across his face. ""Ah. The mother-to-be holds the future in her hands. How poetic. Pick it up, Mrs. Miller—or should I call you Mrs. Vance? Hand it to me, and you and your baby get to live through the afternoon.""
May you like
My heart hammered against my ribs like a caged bird. Everything I had built with this man was crumbling around my ears, yet in that split second, I looked at his eyes—the same eyes that had cried with me over dozens of negative pregnancy tests, the same hands that had rubbed my back through morning sickness. Whatever secrets he held, the menace standing in my doorway was an enemy to us both.
Slowly, carefully, keeping my weight balanced over my swollen belly, I reached down.
