CHAPTER 2 — The Woman the Mafia Refused to Leave Behind
The first bullet shattered Juliet's kitchen window less than three seconds after Maxwell thanked her.
Glass exploded across the room.
"DOWN!"
Maxwell tackled Juliet to the floor while another shot tore through the wall exactly where her head had been.
His bodyguards reacted instantly.
Weapons drawn.
Lights off.
Windows covered.
The tiny apartment transformed into a battlefield.
Ivy screamed.
"Daddy!"
"I'm here."
Maxwell pulled his daughter behind the overturned table.
Then he looked toward Juliet.
"You weren't supposed to become involved."
"I didn't ask for this!"
"I know."
Another bullet punched through the ceiling.
Someone outside knew the apartment's exact location.
Which meant...
"We've been followed," Maxwell said quietly.
His security chief cursed.
"There's a leak."
Maxwell's expression darkened.
"There always is."
Within seconds, armored SUVs surrounded the building.
But the shooting didn't stop.
Instead...
The attackers rushed inside.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the stairwell.
One floor.
Then another.
Closer.
Juliet's breathing became uneven.
"I'm just a waitress."
Maxwell handed her a pistol.
"Not tonight."
"I don't know how to use this."
"I hope you won't have to."
The apartment door exploded inward.
Smoke filled the hallway.
Three masked gunmen stormed through.
Before Juliet could scream—
The first attacker dropped.
Then the second.
The third tried to grab Ivy.
Juliet reacted without thinking.
She swung the cast-iron skillet with every ounce of strength she possessed.
CRACK.
The man collapsed unconscious.
Silence.
One bodyguard blinked.
Another slowly lowered his weapon.
Nobody had ever seen anyone knock out a professional kidnapper...
...with cookware.
Maxwell looked at Juliet.
For the first time all night—
He smiled.
"Amazing."
Juliet stared at the skillet.
"My grandmother always said never underestimate good cookware."
Even Maxwell laughed.
It lasted only two seconds.
Then one surviving attacker whispered something before dying.
"The traitor..."
He coughed blood.
"...works for..."
His eyes rolled back.
Dead.
Maxwell froze.
His men searched every pocket.
Nothing.
No identification.
No fingerprints.
Professional.
Very professional.
Then Ivy quietly tugged Juliet's sleeve.
"I know who hurt me."
Every adult stopped moving.
"It was Uncle Daniel."
The room became silent enough to hear rain outside.
Daniel Buchanan.
Maxwell's younger brother.
The only man still trusted inside the Buchanan organization.
If Ivy was telling the truth...
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The kidnapping had never come from enemies.
It came from family.
