CHAPTER 7 — The Choice No Father Should Ever Make
The timer flashed across the dark factory.
09:12... 09:11... 09:10...
Every second echoed like a gunshot.
Ethan looked through the reinforced glass office where Lily sat in a chair, frightened but unharmed.
"Daddy!"
Her tiny voice cut straight through his heart.
"I'm here!" Ethan shouted.
"I'm coming!"
Richard Carter smiled from the shadows.
"You still don't understand."
He handed Ethan a small black remote.
"Press the green button..."
"...and the vault containing your family's fortune will unlock."
He pointed toward another steel door.
"Press the red button..."
"...and Lily's room opens."
Ethan stared at the remote.
Only one button could be used.
Once one was pressed...
the other system would permanently lock.
Richard folded his arms.
"Billions of dollars."
"Or your daughter."
"The Carter men have always chosen money."
"Let's see if you're any different."
Without thinking...
Ethan smashed the remote onto the concrete floor.
The plastic exploded into pieces.
"I choose my daughter."
Richard's smile slowly disappeared.
For the first time in decades...
someone had broken his game.
At that exact moment, Margaret's voice crackled through Ethan's hidden earpiece.
"Ethan!"
"There was never a second lock!"
"He lied!"
"The control system is upstairs!"
Richard's face changed instantly.
He lunged toward the stairwell.
But Ethan tackled him.
The two men crashed through a metal railing and slammed onto the factory floor below.
Bones cracked.
Blood stained the concrete.
Richard laughed even as he struggled.
"You'll never reach her in time."
Suddenly...
Lily screamed.
"Daddy!"
A steel cable above her room snapped.
A massive shipping container began swinging directly toward the glass walls protecting her.
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The countdown reached...
00:58.
