Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Pawn
I dropped the phone on the glass coffee table in absolute horror.
Adrian rushed over, his face draining of all color as he watched the horrifying video of his grandmother.
The masked figure in the video held up a handwritten sign to the camera.
The sign demanded that Adrian transfer all of his voting shares in the Vale Corporation to Celeste by midnight.
If he refused, the deadly poison would be injected directly into Eleanor's bloodstream.
Adrian cursed violently and kicked a heavy leather chair across the room.
He explained that Celeste's father, Judge Arthur Winthrop, had always wanted to absorb the Vale logistics empire.
They had clearly orchestrated this entire engagement just to gain control of the board of directors.
Now that a true bloodline heir had appeared, their legal claim was completely worthless.
They were resorting to pure murder to secure the massive fortune.
I looked at the clock on the wall, realizing it was already eleven at night.
We had exactly one hour to find the hospital and save the only family I had left.
Adrian pulled out a secure laptop and began running facial recognition software on the reflection in the hospital window from the video.
He typed furiously, bypassing encrypted servers with the skill of a man who had built his own fortune.
The software finally pinged, identifying the reflection as a private, off-the-books clinic owned by the Winthrop family.
Adrian unlocked a hidden wall safe and pulled out two loaded tactical pistols.
He handed one to me, his eyes asking a silent question about what I was willing to do.
I checked the safety on the weapon, my hands surprisingly steady.
I told him I would do whatever it took to protect my family.
We left Lucia asleep in the panic room, securely locked behind ten inches of reinforced titanium.
We sped through the empty city streets, arriving at the private clinic just as the clock struck eleven-thirty.
The front lobby was completely deserted, which made my stomach twist with immediate dread.
We stepped into the silent hallway, our weapons drawn and ready.
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Suddenly, the heavy steel security doors slammed shut behind us, trapping us in the corridor.
A thick, sweet-smelling green gas began pouring out of the ventilation ducts above our heads.
