Chapter 14 - The Convoy Ambush
They burst out of the mausoleum into the torrential rain, sprinting back toward the main mansion. But as they rounded the driveway, the sound of screeching tires tore through the night.
Three black armored SUVs slammed through the front gates of the estate. Armed men in unmarked tactical gear poured out, breaching the mansion's glass doors.
"Leo!" Adrian screamed.
"Stay behind me!" Grace commanded, drawing her sidearm.
Inside the mansion's grand foyer, the security guards lay unconscious on the marble floor. Grace moved with lethal precision, taking down two tactical mercenaries with swift, silenced shots before they could reach the grand staircase.
They sprinted up the stairs toward the nursery.
The nursery door was wide open. Inside, standing beside Leo’s wooden crib, was Vivian Cross. She was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit beneath a wet rain jacket, a heavy military rifle slung over her shoulder.
"You..." Adrian growled, stepping into the doorway. "How did you get out of federal custody?"
Vivian turned, her face pale, a frantic, hysterical laugh escaping her lips. "You think prison walls can hold Victoria Harrington's private military? She broke me out an hour ago! But not to save me, Adrian—she brought me here to retrieve the boy!"
Vivian aimed her weapon directly at Leo’s crib.
"Drop the gun, Vivian," Grace said, her sight locked onto Vivian's forehead. "You're terrified. Victoria is going to kill you the moment you hand Leo over to her."
"I have no choice!" Vivian sobbed, her finger trembling on the trigger. "She gave me the antidote for the poison she forced me to swallow in jail! If I don't bring her Leo, I die in two hours!"
"She's lying to you!" Adrian stepped forward, placing himself between Vivian's gun and the crib. "Look at what she did to Julian! She used you both!"
Vivian hesitated for a single second.
That second was all Grace needed. Grace lunged forward, sweeping Vivian’s legs out from under her. The rifle discharged into the ceiling as Vivian crashed onto the hardwood floor. Grace disarmed her in a fluid motion, pinning her throat to the floor with her boot.
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"Where is Victoria taking Maya?" Grace demanded, her voice cold as ice.
Vivian choked, gasping for air. "The... the private island... Off the coast of Greece. The Fortress of Glass... She’s leaving on her yacht in three hours!"
