Chapter 9 - The Penthouse ReckoningThe heavy-tracked snowcat rumbled to a halt in the subterranean underground parking garage of the Steel Holdings Tower in downtown Seattle. The sleek, sterile concrete space was dead silent, save for the rhythmic dripping of melting snow from the vehicle's treads.
Orion killed the engine. The sudden silence was deafening.
Before he could open the passenger door, it swung outward. Standing at the edge of the perimeter were a dozen elite private security guards in tailored obsidian suits, their weapons lowered the instant they recognized their boss. Leading them was Marcus, Orion’s most trusted chief of operations, whose face turned pale as he saw Aldrich being gently lifted out on a stretcher.
"Mr. Steel! Good god, we thought..." Marcus stammered, stepping forward.
"Quiet, Marcus," Orion interrupted, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute, chilling authority that made the veteran operative snap his mouth shut instantly. "Get my father to the private medical wing on the forty-fifth floor immediately. Bring Dr. Alistair. And have a team sweep the executive boardroom. Julian Vance is about to walk into a trap."
Marcus nodded sharply, signaling his men. As Aldrich was rushed toward the private elevator, the older man weakly raised two fingers in a silent salute to Ren, who stood beside the snowcat holding her medical case.
Ren watched them go, her expression unreadable. She looked down at her hands—still stained with the dried blood of the man who ruled Seattle's underworld.
"You don't have to come up," Orion said softly, walking over to her. The harsh fluorescent lights of the garage cast sharp shadows across his face, but his eyes were entirely fixed on her. "You can take the snowcat back up the mountain, or my men can fly you anywhere in the world you want to start over. Completely safe. No questions asked."
Ren looked up at him, her gaze meeting his steel-gray eyes without a flicker of hesitation.
"Start over?" Ren let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Orion, your father's enemies know my face now. That cabin in the woods was burned to the ground in my mind the second your helicopter touched down on that ridge. I'm not running anymore."
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Orion’s expression softened, a rare, genuine warmth breaking through his stern facade. "Julian Vance is waiting in the executive boardroom right now. He thinks my father is dead, and he's about to call a hostile takeover vote of the syndicate board in five minutes."
"Then let's not keep him waiting," Ren said, snapping her medical case shut with a sharp click. "Lead the way."
