Chapter 2 - The Ripped Seams
Thick gray smoke instantly filled the grand lobby as the building's fire alarms began to shriek.
Dominic dragged himself off the floor, his expensive suit covered in white plaster dust and shattered glass.
He grabbed my arm with a grip like iron, hauling me to my feet while he scooped a terrified Lily into his other arm.
His security chief, Marco, screamed into his earpiece, desperately trying to coordinate an evacuation while keeping Dominic shielded.
Dominic didn't wait for his security team to clear a path.
He shoved us through a side exit that led directly into a reinforced underground parking garage.
He pushed us into the back seat of a massive, heavily armored black SUV and ordered Marco to drive to Brooklyn immediately.
The ride was a blur of blaring sirens and Dominic frantically typing on an encrypted phone, his jaw clenched in pure fury.
He finally looked up at me and stated that someone had just tried to assassinate him to prevent him from seeing whatever my daughter had mentioned.
I sat in stunned silence, holding a trembling Lily against my chest as the armored car sped across the Manhattan Bridge.
When we finally reached my modest apartment building in Brooklyn, Dominic drew a sleek silver handgun from his shoulder holster.
He kicked my front door open, sweeping the small living room with his weapon before letting us inside.
My heart completely dropped into my stomach when I saw the absolute destruction of my home.
Every piece of furniture had been slashed open, the floorboards were pried up, and my closet had been completely emptied onto the floor.
Dominic lowered his weapon and stared at the empty space on the top shelf of my closet where the shoebox used to be.
He turned to me, his eyes blazing with anger, and asked if the signature document was in that box.
Before I could answer, Lily quietly tugged on Dominic's suit jacket.
She unzipped the back of her stuffed rabbit and pulled out a folded piece of heavy parchment paper bearing a brilliant gold seal.
She proudly told Dominic that she had hidden the pretty paper because she didn't want the bad men to take it.
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Dominic snatched the paper, quickly scanned the legal text above his father's signature, and visibly stopped breathing.
Marco suddenly stepped into the doorway, raised his own weapon, and pointed it directly at the back of Dominic's head.
