Chapter 11 - "THE SHADOW OF VANESSA COLE ESCAPES THE CAGE"
Six months after Daniel took back the helm of Harrison Freight under Amy’s strict terms, the quiet peace of Newport was shattered in a single night.
In maximum-security psychiatric custody three hundred miles away in Seattle, a sudden high-voltage power failure plunged the facility into total darkness. When emergency generators kicked on eight minutes later, Vanessa Cole’s cell door was standing wide open. Two guards lay unconscious on the linoleum floor. Scrawled across the white wall in crimson lipstick was a single sentence:
“Did you really think a piece of paper could hold what belongs to me?”
The news hit the headlines at dawn.
In the sunlit kitchen of their harbor cottage, Daniel dropped his mug of coffee onto the hardwood floor, dark liquid splashing across his boots. Amy picked up baby Clara from her high chair, pulling her tight against her chest as the television broadcast showed armed federal marshals surrounding the empty facility.
"She didn't do this alone," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp tone that hadn't been heard since his days on Wall Street. He immediately pulled out his encrypted phone, dialing his Chief of Security. "Marcus, step up perimeter security around the cottage, the bookstore, and the corporate office. Full blackout protocols. No one gets within fifty feet of Amy or Clara without my personal authorization."
"Sir," Marcus’s voice sounded tight over the line. "It’s worse than an escape. The facility’s security logs were wiped using executive-level clearance codes from inside Harrison Freight."
Daniel froze. Amy’s eyes locked onto his, her heart hammering against her ribs.
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"What are you saying, Marcus?" Daniel demanded.
"Someone high up in your own executive team helped break Vanessa out."
