Chapter 4 - Checkmate in the DarkI didn't go to my penthouse. I went to an old, abandoned warehouse I secretly owned under a dummy corporation. I opened a safe hidden in the floorboards containing millions in untraceable cash, passports, and a heavily encrypted laptop.

For 48 hours, I didn't sleep. I used my wealth to hire a private team of elite mercenaries—ex-special forces operatives who didn't exist on any government grid.
I tracked David's financial footprint. I found a secluded, heavily guarded compound in upstate New York owned by a shell company linked to him. That’s where he was keeping them.
My lead operative, a scarred veteran named Vance, laid out the blueprints. "It's a fortress, Mr. Harrison. Heavily armed guards. We can breach it, but it will be loud. And the hostages might get caught in the crossfire."
"No crossfire," I said, my voice ice-cold. "I'm going in through the front door."
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Vance stared at me. "That's suicide."
"No," I replied, loading a magazine into a Glock. "It's a hostile takeover."