Chapter 4 - The Safehouse
They burst into the upper level of the underground parking garage, chest heaving, rain soaking through their clothes. Alexander’s mind raced through his contacts. Not his corporate associates—they couldn't be trusted. Not his security detail, who might have been compromised by the board.
There was only one person left.
"Parker," Alexander panted, pulling out his encrypted burner phone. "Bring the armored backup transport to Level B of the Fourth Avenue garage. Now. And don't use the primary comms."
Ten minutes later, the heavy-duty matte-black SUV slid silently into the shadows of the garage. Parker threw open the door, his face pale with concern as he took in the sight of his boss and a shivering, coat-swallowed child.
"Get in," Parker commanded, slamming the doors shut the second they tumbled inside. The vehicle accelerated smoothly into the subterranean tunnels beneath the city.
In the back seat, Alexander pulled the damp envelope from his inner jacket pocket. Aura sat beside him, clutching his arm with a grip that left no doubt of her fear.
"Are we safe?" she asked quietly, her voice trembling.
"We are now," Alexander promised, though he didn't believe his own words.
He unfolded Clare’s letter under the dim dashboard light. The handwriting was frantic, written in ink that had smeared in places from old tears.
Dear Alexander, If you are reading this, it means Aura found you, and I am no longer here to protect her. I left twenty years ago because your world would have chewed me up and spat me out. But I never stopped loving you. And I certainly never stopped watching you. What you don't know—what Halcyon Tech has been hiding from you—is that Aura isn't just my daughter. She is the biological granddaughter of Arthur Halcyon.
May you like
Alexander stopped breathing. Arthur Halcyon—the legendary founder of Halcyon Tech, who had supposedly died childless thirty years ago, leaving his entire multi-billion-dollar empire in a blind trust controlled by the current board.
And that means, the letter continued, Aura owns fifty-one percent voting shares of Halcyon Tech. The board didn't merge with your company to expand, Alexander. They merged with you to destroy you, bury the stock, and steal her inheritance.
