CHAPTER 7 – The Bullet That Was Never Meant to Miss
The black SUV remained parked across the street.
Inside, a man wearing black gloves watched Noah through a rifle scope.
"Target confirmed," he whispered into his earpiece.
"Eliminate him before the family reaches him."
Noah knew nothing.
He laughed as his six-year-old daughter, Lily, ran into his arms outside the garage.
"Daddy! You promised pizza tonight!"
He smiled.
"And I never break my promises."
They climbed into his rusty pickup truck.
The assassin frowned.
The little girl wasn't supposed to be there.
His finger rested on the trigger.
Then...
BANG!
The shot shattered the truck's windshield.
Noah slammed on the brakes and instinctively pulled Lily onto the floor.
Glass exploded everywhere.
A second bullet tore through the driver's seat.
Someone wanted him dead.
Noah grabbed Lily and sprinted toward an abandoned warehouse.
Behind him, the assassin chased relentlessly.
Just as Noah reached a dead end, three black helicopters thundered overhead.
Dozens of armed security officers rappelled to the ground.
"Protect Mr. Noah Hayes!"
The assassin froze.
Within seconds, he was surrounded.
But before anyone could capture him...
He bit down on a hidden cyanide capsule.
He collapsed instantly.
No identification.
No fingerprints.
No phone.
Only a single silver coin hidden inside his jacket.
Engraved on one side was the Hayes family crest.
On the other were four chilling words:
"Blood Before Truth."
Ethan arrived minutes later in a convoy of armored vehicles.
He saw Noah shielding Lily with his own body.
For the first time in his life...
Ethan realized his older brother possessed something that billions of dollars had never bought him.
Honor.
Family.
And unconditional love.
Noah slowly stood, his eyes locked on Ethan.
"You've got five seconds," he said coldly.
"Tell me why strangers are trying to murder me."
Before Ethan could answer...
A limousine rolled into the warehouse.
The rear door opened.
Everyone fell silent.
An elderly man stepped out, leaning on a cane.
The attorney gasped.
"It can't be..."
The old man smiled.
"Noah isn't the only secret Eleanor kept."
Then he removed his hat.
Every member of the Hayes security team immediately dropped to one knee.
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Because the man everyone had buried thirty-five years ago...
Richard Hayes—the legendary founder of the Hayes empire and Eleanor's husband—was still alive.
