Chapter 2 - THE THORNE EMPIRE'S DARKEST SECRETDownstairs, the atmosphere in the grand foyer had shifted from shock to absolute terror.
Arthur Thorne, realizing his wealth and political connections meant zero against men who didn't exist on paper, tried a different tactic. He straightened his tailored Italian suit, putting on his best corporate-executive mask of arrogance.
“Listen to me, whoever you are,” Arthur barked, his voice trembling slightly as Marcus kept him pinned against the marble pillar with one hand. “This is a domestic dispute. My son’s wife was suffering from severe psychological delusions. We were merely administering treatment under private medical supervision!”
“Medical supervision?” A cold, deep voice echoed from the doorway.
Step by step, David Thorne—Arthur’s older brother and the actual patriarch holding the family's banking empire together—stepped into the foyer. But he wasn't alone. Flanking him were four heavily armed mercenaries from a private security firm called Apex Aegis.
David looked at Julian pinned to the floor, then up the stairs where I was carrying Audrey down, wrapped in my military jacket. A cruel, calculating smile spread across David's face.
“Well, well. Elias Vale. The retired ghost,” David mocked, signaling his men to raise their weapons. “You think you can just bust into a Thorne property and walk out? You’re trespassing, Colonel. And in about ten seconds, you’re going to be a statistic. A tragic home-invasion casualty.”
Arthur’s confidence instantly surged back. “Yes! Apex Aegis handles high-threat asset protection! You’re outgunned, Vale! Drop your weapons or—”
He stopped talking because of the sound filling the sky outside.
It wasn't police sirens. It was the heavy, rhythmic thumping of twin-engine rotor blades. A massive military-grade transport helicopter hovered low over the front lawn, kicking up a hurricane of dust and shattering the front windows with its downdraft.
A laser designator red dot flickered across David Thorne’s forehead, instantly making him freeze.
“Asset protection?” I whispered, walking down the stairs and setting Audrey gently into the arms of a female medic who had just jogged in from my team. I turned back to face David, my eyes locked on his soul. “David, you build your entire fortune on illegal offshore accounts, human trafficking loopholes, and buying off politicians. But you forgot one fundamental rule.”
“What... what rule?” David swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead.
“Never corner a monster and threaten his cub,” I said softly.
I whistled twice.
From the shadows of the study, three more of my ghost operatives stepped out, holding encrypted tactical pads.
“Sir,” report specialist Miller said crisply. “We’ve just bypassed the Thorne Group mainframe. Every single hidden ledger, money-laundering wire transfer, and illegal offshore account has been downloaded, mirrored, and simultaneously transmitted to the Department of Justice, Interpol, and every major financial news outlet in the world.”
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David’s face drained of every drop of color. “You... you didn't.”
“The Thorne Empire,” I said, stepping closer until I was inches from his face, “just went bankrupt.”
