Chapter 5 - The Art of the Counter-Attack
I looked down at the tablet resting on my desk. The glowing blue screen displayed the transfer contract—the total annihilation of everything I had spent my life building.
My father smiled smugly, checking his Rolex. “You have sixty seconds, Jason. Sentimentality is a luxury for the poor. Let’s see how much your empire is really worth to you.”
The four mercenaries shifted their weight, their rifles locked on my chest. Claire stood beside my father, a triumphant sneer plastered across her face.
“Sixty seconds is a long time, William,” I said quietly.
I reached down, scooped Liam and Lucas up into my arms once more, and backed away toward the executive bathroom door—the only room in the office with a reinforced steel security frame.
“Stop right there!” my father barked, raising his hand. The mercenaries took a step forward, safety clicks echoing off the ruined walls. “Shoot the floor near his feet! Teach him a lesson!”
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
A burst of automatic gunfire chewed into the hardwood floor just inches from my Italian leather shoes, sending splinters flying. Liam screamed, burying his face in my shoulder, while Lucas wept quietly.
“Daddy, please!” Lucas cried.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered fiercely.
I dove backward through the bathroom door just as another volley of bullets shattered the remaining mirrors. With a swift kick of my heel, I slammed the heavy steel security door shut and punched the emergency override code into the keypad.
CLANG!
The hydraulic bolts locked into place. Bullets pinged harmlessly against the exterior of the heavy-grade steel door.
“You can’t hide in there forever, Jason!” my father’s muffled voice roared from the other side. “We’ll blow the hinges off in five minutes!”
I didn't panic. Panic was for amateurs.
I set the twins down gently against the tiled bathtub, pulling extra towels around them to block out the noise. I crouched down eye-level with them.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I said, holding their small faces in my hands. “You are the bravest boys I have ever met. Do you trust me?”
Liam nodded bravely, wiping a tear from his cheek. “We trust you, Daddy.”
“Good. Inside this room is a ventilation shaft that leads straight down to the secure parking garage. My emergency armored SUV is waiting in Bay 3. The keys are in this magnetic lockbox.” I pressed a small metallic case into Liam’s hand. “When I open that vent, I want you both to crawl through until you reach the car. Get inside, lock the doors, and press the red emergency button on the dashboard. Do you understand?”
“What about you?” Lucas asked, his lip trembling.
“I’m going to go get your mother,” I said with a fierce, unwavering smile. “I’ll be right behind you.”
I stood up, pulled the heavy ceiling grate down with my bare hands, and boosted the twins up into the dark tunnel. As they crawled away into safety, I turned back to the bathroom door, cracking open a hidden panel in the wall.
It wasn't a panic room. It was the armory.
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I pulled out a suppressed tactical carbine and a vest of heavy ceramic plates. As the hydraulic hinges of the bathroom door began to whine under the assault of thermal charges planted by my father’s men, I cocked the weapon.
William Miller thought he had destroyed my life. He didn't realize he had just unleashed a monster.
