The warmth of the diner hit them like a physical blow, melting the grey Seattle rain from Alexander Sterling's eyelashes. He guided Aura to a corner booth away from the main traffic of the room, acutely aware of the curious glances cast their way.

"Stay in the panic room behind the bookcase," Alexander commanded, pulling a heavy steel key from his pocket and unlocking the concealed wall panel. "Don't come out, no matter what you hear."

"Dad—" Aura started, the word slipping out naturally for the first time.

Alexander froze for a fraction of a second at the sound of it, then nodded firmly. "Go."

He closed the heavy oak panel, locking it from the outside just as the front doors of the mansion blew inward with a deafening crash. Splintered wood and shattered glass rained across the marble foyer.

Three men in tactical black gear stepped into the hallway, assault rifles raised. Leading them was none other than Marcus Thorne, the billionaire CEO of Halcyon Tech, wearing an expensive wool coat that looked entirely out of place in a combat zone.

"Alexander!" Thorne called out, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings as he stepped into the library with a smug, predatory grin. "I have to hand it to you. You’re harder to track down than a ghost. But running to an island with no cell service? Amateur hour, Sterling."

Alexander stepped out from behind the mahogany desk, his posture rigid, hands loose at his sides. "Thorne. I should have known your fingerprints were all over the hostile takeover."

"Business is business, Alex," Thorne chuckled, walking casually toward the center of the room. "Halcyon Tech needed a clean merger, and your stellar reputation was the perfect vehicle to bury the family trust scandal. But then you had to go and rescue a stray kid off the street."

"She’s my daughter," Alexander said, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper.

"She's a liability," Thorne corrected, his smile vanishing, replaced by cold corporate ruthlessness. "And more importantly, she holds the biometric key to Arthur Halcyon's legacy vault. Hand over the girl, Alexander, and the board will let you walk away with a billion-dollar parachute. Resist, and you both end up at the bottom of the Puget Sound."

Alexander looked toward the hidden bookcase, knowing Aura was listening to every word.