Chapter 2 - The Hit List
Patricia dropped the dead telephone receiver, her eyes locked in sheer horror on the slowly opening door.
The electronic security system of the penthouse had been completely overridden from the hotel's main server.
"Push the heavy sofa against the door right now!" Patricia yelled, abandoning her cleaning cart to grab the heavy furniture.
Melissa instantly snapped out of her shock and rushed to help the brave maid.
Together, they forcefully shoved the massive velvet sofa directly in front of the entryway just as someone attempted to violently push the door open.
A heavy, aggressive thud echoed from the hallway as a large man repeatedly slammed his shoulder against the wood.
"Open this door immediately, Mrs. Sterling, or I will be forced to shoot the lock," a deep, unfamiliar voice demanded from the corridor.
"That is not the police, that is Marcus, Thomas's ruthless head of private security," Melissa whispered, her face draining of all color.
Patricia knew the heavy oak door and the massive sofa would only buy them a few precious minutes at best.
She quickly scanned the luxurious room for any possible means of escape or self-defense.
Her eyes landed on the open wall safe that Thomas had hastily abandoned in his panicked flight.
"Grab anything useful from that safe, Melissa, we need absolute proof of his crimes to survive this," Patricia instructed urgently.
Melissa rushed to the steel box, violently pulling out thick financial ledgers and several encrypted USB drives.
As Melissa frantically stuffed the evidence into a leather tote bag, a single manila folder slipped from her hands and spilled onto the floor.
Patricia knelt down to help gather the scattered papers, but her hands completely froze when she saw the contents.
Scattered across the expensive rug were highly detailed surveillance photographs of various people, each marked with a thick red cross.
The men in the photos were all well-known local figures who had mysteriously died in tragic accidents over the past year.
But it was the very last photograph in the folder that made Patricia’s blood run completely cold.
It was a perfectly clear, zoomed-in picture of Patricia herself, walking out of the hotel employee entrance just three days ago.
Attached to the photograph was a document labeled "Life Insurance Payout," listing Thomas as the primary anonymous beneficiary.
"Why in the world does your billionaire husband have a heavily insured hit list with my face on it?" Patricia asked, her voice trembling with absolute dread.
Melissa stared at the photograph in pure, unadulterated shock, unable to comprehend the massive scale of her husband's evil.
"I have absolutely no idea, Patricia, I swear I have never seen this specific file in my entire life," Melissa sobbed defensively.
A sudden, deafening gunshot shattered the heavy tension in the room.
The security guard in the hallway had fired a high-caliber bullet directly through the heavy brass door lock.
The wood splintered violently, and the massive door began to forcefully push the velvet sofa backward across the carpet.
"We cannot stay in this room, we have to use the balcony!" Patricia screamed over the noise of the splintering wood.
She grabbed Melissa’s hand and practically dragged the terrified woman toward the massive floor-to-ceiling glass doors.
Patricia unlocked the sliding glass door and pushed it open, stepping out into the freezing, torrential autumn rain.
They were forty stories above the bustling city streets, and the sheer drop was completely terrifying.
"We have to carefully climb over the glass partition to the adjacent suite's balcony," Patricia ordered, pointing to the narrow ledge.
Melissa looked down at the dizzying drop and violently shook her head, completely paralyzed by a massive fear of heights.
"I cannot do this, Patricia, I will definitely slip and fall to my death!" Melissa cried hysterically.
The heavy suite door behind them finally gave way, and three heavily armed security men stormed into the living room.
"Climb the partition right now, or they will absolutely execute both of us on this balcony!" Patricia yelled, physically boosting Melissa over the slippery glass divider.
Melissa clumsily tumbled over the barrier, landing hard on the wet tiles of the neighboring balcony.
Patricia quickly swung her own leg over the partition just as the armed men spotted them from the living room.
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Before Patricia could fully clear the glass barrier, a massive, deafening crack echoed through the rainy night sky.
A high-powered sniper bullet violently shattered the glass partition merely an inch away from Patricia’s face.
