Chapter 7 - The Cornered Rat
Victor Seo did not flee to the airport. Desperation is a toxic fuel for men who have spent their lives tasting absolute power. Instead of accepting exile, Victor retreated to his private security compound near the Port of Long Beach, calling in every rogue mercenary and corrupt dock worker remaining on his payroll.
“If I am going down, Daniel burns with me!” Victor screamed into his satellite phone, pacing across the metal catwalk of a container terminal. “He thinks he won because of a piece of paper? Bring the heavy transport. We take the children from Westbridge Tower tonight. With the twins as leverage, Daniel will sign over every shipping deed in the Pacific!”
Back at Westbridge Logistics, the storm outside had evolved into a violent gale. Hazel was sitting on the carpet of Daniel’s penthouse office, carefully drawing a family portrait with colored markers. She drew Daniel with very tall shoulders and an enormous frown, Rachel with long brown hair, Silas with crossed arms, and Bam the rabbit wearing a gold crown.
Daniel stood by the panoramic window, his jacket off, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his forearms. Rachel walked up beside him, handing him a porcelain mug of black coffee.
“You gave him five minutes,” she said softly. “You knew he wouldn't run.”
“Victor is a coward, but he is an arrogant coward,” Daniel replied, his gaze scanning the misty streets below. “He believes his thirty years of connections can outmuscle my loyalty. He will try to strike where he thinks I am softest.”
“Here,” Rachel whispered, looking back at Hazel.
Daniel placed his hand over Rachel’s, his touch warm and reassuring. “He won’t get within three blocks. I didn't spend five years building an empire just to lose the only people who give it meaning.”
Suddenly, the lights across the forty-second floor flickered and died.
The emergency red halogen lights kicked on with a low, mechanical hum. The office telephone lines cut out instantly. Mason’s voice cracked over Daniel’s encrypted earpiece: “Boss! Main power grid in the sub-basement has been breached! Armed team breaching through the parking structure elevator shafts! It’s Victor’s personal strike team!”
Silas immediately stood up, grabbing Hazel’s hand. “Hazel, under the big desk. Now.”
Hazel didn't cry. With the practiced discipline of children who had spent their short lives hiding from monsters, she scrambled under Daniel’s heavy mahogany desk, pulling her stuffed rabbit to her chest. Silas stood in front of her like a sentry, his jaw clenched tight.
Daniel drew two handguns from the wall cabinet, tossing one to Rachel without looking. She caught it by the grip with effortless muscle memory.
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“You still know how to shoot?” Daniel asked, a fierce, prideful spark in his eye.
Rachel racked the slide back with a sharp, metallic click. “I never forgot how to protect my family, Daniel.”
