Chapter 5 - The Escape
Adrian threw his body over Marissa and the baby, pushing them hard into the wet gravel.
A suppressed gunshot made a dull popping sound, and a bullet shattered the brick wall exactly where they had just been standing.
Adrian dragged Marissa deeper into the pitch-black alley, navigating through rusted dumpsters and broken pallets.
The heavy SUV could not fit down the narrow passage, forcing the shooter to stop.
They ran for three blocks in the pouring rain, slipping in the mud and gasping for air.
Baby Owen started to cry loudly, terrified by the sudden violence and the freezing cold.
Marissa desperately shushed him, pressing his face into her coat to muffle the sound.
They finally ducked into a highly crowded subway station, blending in with the late-night commuters.
Adrian guided them into a public restroom and locked the heavy metal door behind them.
He realized he was a billionaire who suddenly had absolutely nothing.
His credit cards were tracked, his car was destroyed, and his face would soon be on the news.
He reached into his soaked jacket and pulled out the emergency cash he always carried.
He handed the money to Marissa and told her to go buy a prepaid burner phone from the station kiosk.
She returned a few minutes later, her hands still shaking from the adrenaline.
Adrian quickly dialed the personal cell phone number of Marcus, his most loyal corporate security chief.
Marcus answered on the second ring, his voice low and incredibly tense.
Adrian asked him what was happening at the corporate headquarters.
Marcus explained that Arthur Vance had just held an emergency midnight board meeting.
The attorney had convinced the board that Adrian had suffered a severe psychotic break.
Arthur claimed Adrian was embezzling company funds and had attacked the family's legal team.
Marcus warned Adrian that Arthur had hired private mercenaries who were hunting him right now.
Adrian asked Marcus if he could access the old construction files to prove Julian was right.
There was a long, agonizing silence on the other end of the line.
Marcus took a deep breath and told Adrian he was too late.
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"Arthur just authorized the grand opening of the new flagship skyscraper," Marcus whispered.
"Thousands of people will be inside that structurally flawed building by tomorrow morning."
