CHAPTER 8 â The Grandmother No One Expected
The elderly woman walked inside with quiet confidence.
Every armed security officer lowered their heads.
Even the police stepped aside.
Richard's face turned white.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The woman stopped in front of Emma.
"My name is Eleanor Harrington."
"The founder of Harrington International."
Emma stared in disbelief.
The name was known around the world.
A business empire spanning finance, technology, luxury hotels, and real estate.
Eleanor gently touched Emma's face.
"I recognized your mother's eyes the moment I saw you on television."
Tears streamed down Emma's cheeks.
"You... you're really my grandmother?"
Eleanor nodded.
"I never stopped looking."
She pulled out an old photograph.
A young woman holding a newborn baby.
On the back was a handwritten note:
'If anything happens to us, find our daughter.'
Emma collapsed into Eleanor's arms.
For the first time in years, she felt safe.
But the reunion lasted only seconds.
One of Eleanor's security agents rushed inside.
"Ma'am!"
"We have a problem."
He handed her a tablet.
The screen showed breaking news.
HARRINGTON INTERNATIONAL CEO FOUND DEAD IN PRIVATE JET CRASH.
The room fell silent.
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"No..."
The security chief swallowed.
"One more thing."
"The jet's flight plan was changed thirty minutes before takeoff..."
He turned the tablet toward Emma.
"The authorization code belonged to Daniel Brooks."
Emma's blood ran cold.
Daniel wasn't running.
He wasn't hiding.
He was eliminating everyone standing between Emma and the truth.
Then Michael slowly looked out the window.
A black helicopter was descending toward the lake house.
Its doors slid open before it even landed.
Masked men carrying assault rifles jumped out.
One of them shouted through a loudspeaker:
May you like
"Hand over Emma Harrington... or everyone dies."
The nightmare had only just begun.
