Chapter 4 - THE MIDNIGHT AMBUSH
Viral Title: Armed Men Invaded His Penthouse. He Had Only Ten Seconds to Save His Sister's Child."Evans!" Graham lunged forward in the dark, his hands finding the doctor’s chest. It was wet with warm blood.
"Run..." Evans choked out, his voice weak. "Graham... they’re already inside."
Another silent pop shattered the glass of the study window. Shards rained down on them.
Graham didn't have time to grieve or panic. Years of discipline took over. He crawled out of the study, keeping low to the floor. The penthouse was massive, but the intruders had night-vision gear; they had the advantage in the dark.
He had to get to Maisie.
He moved like a shadow through the hallway, his bare feet making no sound on the hardwood floor. He reached the guest room just as the door was being pushed open from the outside.
A tall figure in tactical gear stepped into the room, raising a silenced pistol toward the bed where Maisie was sleeping.
Graham didn't hesitate. He tackled the intruder from behind, throwing his entire weight into the man’s back. They crashed to the floor. Graham slammed the man's head against the nightstand, knocking him unconscious. He grabbed the fallen pistol, checked the magazine in one fluid motion, and pointed it at the doorway.
"Maisie!" Graham whispered.
The little girl scrambled out from under the bed, holding the stuffed rabbit. She didn't cry. The terrifying calm she possessed was unnatural for a five-year-old. It was the calm of someone who had lived in survival mode her entire life.
"We have to go. Now," Graham said.
He didn't use the elevator—it would be trapped. He led her to the private service stairwell at the back of the pantry.
As they descended the cold concrete steps, Graham’s phone buzzed in his pocket. It was an unknown number. He swiped to answer, keeping his gun pointed down the stairs.
"You should have given me the girl when I asked nicely, Graham," Clara Harrington’s voice echoed through the speaker.
"If you touch her, I will tear your empire to the ground," Graham hissed.
"My empire?" Clara laughed, a cold, dry sound. "My dear boy, your own family built this empire. Why do you think your father’s old business partner, Arthur Vale, is currently sitting in my living room?"
Graham stopped on the stairs.
Arthur Vale. His stepfather. The man who had raised him after his biological father died. The man who had inherited half of the Vale estate.
"Arthur is dead," Graham said, his voice cold.
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"He’s very much alive," Clara whispered. "And he wants his granddaughter back."
Hook: The man who raised him was the monster who stole his sister.
