Chapter 4: The Kidnapping and the Will
“Step away from him!” Hannah screamed, lunging forward with the heavy silver candle holder.
Dr. Harris turned in shock, but before he could react, Owen threw off his covers and grabbed the doctor’s wrist, twisting it until the syringe clattered to the floor. Owen slammed Harris against the wall, his physical strength completely returning now that he had stopped taking the poisoned medication.
“It’s over, Harris,” Owen growled, pressing his forearm against the doctor’s throat. “I know about the digitalis. I know what you’ve been putting in my pills.”
Harris gasped for air, his eyes wide with terror. “Owen... please... I had no choice! Julian... he has my family! He threatened to kill my daughter!”
“Where is Julian?” Owen demanded.
Before Harris could answer, a loud crash echoed from the lower level of the mansion.
Hannah let out a sharp cry as a heavy hand grabbed her from behind. A man in a ski mask had entered through the balcony. He scooped Hannah up, covering her mouth with a chemically treated cloth. She went limp instantly.
“No!” Owen yelled, letting go of Harris to lung toward the intruder.
But another masked man stepped into the room, raising a taser. The electrical shock hit Owen directly in the chest. His weakened heart seized, and he collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as agonizing pain surged through his body.
Through his fading vision, Owen saw Julian Vance step into the room, calmly adjusting his cuffs.
“You played a good game, Owen,” Julian said, looking down at his cousin with cold satisfaction. “But you underestimated how far I am willing to go. You wanted to leave everything to your little bastard daughter? Fine. Now, you’re going to sign her over to me.”
Julian signaled to his men. They dragged the unconscious Hannah and the paralyzed Owen out into the freezing rainy night.
The Abandoned Shipyard
Owen woke up tied to a heavy steel chair in an abandoned shipyard warehouse on the edge of the city. The air smelled of salt, rust, and damp concrete.
A single overhead light illuminated a metal table in front of him. On it lay a stack of legal documents—a full transfer of guardianship and power of attorney, giving Julian complete control over Hannah and the Faulkner estate.
Hannah was tied to a chair opposite him, just starting to wake up, her small face pale and terrified.
“Sign them, Owen,” Julian said, tossing a pen onto the table. “Sign them, and I let the girl live in an orphanage somewhere far away. Refuse, and both of you go into the harbor tonight. The police will find your body and assume your weak heart finally gave out while you were visiting your ‘charity case.’”
Owen looked at Hannah. Her eyes met his. Despite the terror, there was a fierce, stubborn light in her eyes—the same light Clara had.
“If I sign... you’ll kill us anyway, Julian,” Owen said, his voice steady despite the pain in his chest. “You can’t leave witnesses.”
“You’re right,” Julian smiled, a sickening, empty stretch of lips. “But if you sign, her death will be quick and painless. If you don’t... well, I can make her suffer very slowly in front of you.”
Julian picked up a small knife from the table and walked toward Hannah.
“Wait!” Owen shouted, his voice echoing in the hollow warehouse. “I’ll sign.”
Julian smirked. “Smart man.” He untied Owen’s right hand and pushed the document forward.
Owen picked up the pen. His hand was trembling, but not from fear. He was calculating the distance between himself and Julian, the position of the two armed guards at the door, and the heavy metal pen in his hand.
He looked at Hannah one last time. He gave her a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
Hannah, understanding her father’s silent cue, suddenly let out a piercing shriek and threw herself sideways, tipping her chair over with a loud crash.
The guards’ eyes darted toward her.
In that split second of distraction, Owen drove the heavy metal pen directly into the back of Julian’s hand, pinning it to the wooden table.
The Chapter 4 Cliffhanger: Julian screamed in agony as blood spurted onto the legal documents.
Owen threw his weight backward, shattering the wooden chair he was tied to. He lunged for Julian's fallen gun on the table, but one of the guards fired.
A loud bang shattered the warehouse air. A bullet tore through the dark.
But it wasn't Owen who fell.
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The guard who fired collapsed to the ground, a red dot painted on his forehead.
From the shadows of the warehouse, a team of tactical police officers emerged, led by none other than Dr. Sarah Lin and a woman Owen thought he would never see again.
