Chapter 15 - The Ambush at the Terminal
The following morning, we prepared to leave Washington and return home to our quiet life in Dayton.
Arthur’s security team led us through the private aviation terminal at Ronald Reagan National Airport. But as we stepped into the waiting lounge, the double glass doors were suddenly forced open by a dozen paparazzi and camera crews who had leaked our flight itinerary.
Flashbulbs detonated like strobes. Microphones were shoved aggressively past the velvet ropes toward my face.
"Major Braddock! Is it true the airline is paying you a ten-million-dollar settlement?"
"Quinn! Did your military past hide a discharge review?"
"Theo! Look over here, buddy!"
A rogue photographer lunged forward, his massive camera lens thrusting directly into Theo’s face. Theo shrieked in terror, dropping Barnaby onto the dirty marble floor as he buried his head into my legs, trembling violently.
"Get back!" I snapped, stepping between my child and the lens, my combat instincts flaring into high gear.
Before the photographer could advance another step, a hand grabbed his camera strap and yanked it sideways with ferocious force.
Arthur Vance stepped directly in front of the lens. His face was thunderous, his eyes blazing with the terrifying authority of a billionaire who had crushed corporate titans for breakfast.
"Back off!" Vance roared, his voice echoing across the entire terminal like a crack of thunder. "You touch that child or that woman again, and I will personally bankrupt your agency by sunset! Every single one of you—step back ten feet right now!"
The aggressive pack of reporters instantly retreated, intimidated by the sheer fury radiating from the man in the charcoal suit.
Vance knelt down on the dirty airport floor, completely unconcerned about the dust ruining his pants. He picked up Theo’s stuffed giraffe, dusted off the ears with his sleeve, and gently handed it back to the crying boy.
"Hey, buddy," Vance whispered, his voice remarkably gentle as he stroked Theo's head. "No one is going to scare you while Uncle Arthur is here. You hear me? You're safe."
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Theo took the toy, sniffling, and wrapped his arms around Vance's neck in a tight, desperate embrace. Vance closed his eyes, holding the boy against his shoulder with a tender fatherly instinct that completely erased thirty years of corporate ruthlessness.
I looked down at the two of them, feeling a warm, deep gratitude wash over my heart. The arrogant passenger who had sneered at my juice-stained sweater was gone forever; in his place stood a man who would tear down the world to protect a child.
