Chapter 6 - The Desperate Call
A cold, paralyzing terror washed over Daniel.
He pulled out his phone and frantically dialed his sister’s number.
The phone rang endlessly, echoing in the quiet, ruined house.
"Pick up, Megan," Daniel whispered into the receiver.
"Please pick up."
The line clicked, and someone answered.
"Megan!" Daniel shouted.
"Your sister is currently indisposed, Mr. Carter," a cold voice replied.
It was Richard Vance.
Daniel felt his blood turn to ice.
"If you touch my daughter, I will kill you," Daniel swore.
Richard chuckled softly into the phone.
"You are in no position to make threats."
"I want the flash drive containing my data."
"If you do not deliver it to the private airstrip on Route 9 in one hour, your family dies."
Richard hung up the phone.
Daniel dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands.
He had tried so hard to build a good life for Emma, and now he had doomed her.
Victoria placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"We are not going to let him win," she promised.
"I am trading my life's work for your daughter."
Daniel looked at her in shock.
"You would give up your company for a stranger?" he asked.
"You are not a stranger, Daniel," she replied firmly.
"You are the man who stayed with a frightened boy in the cold."
They rushed back to the maintenance van and sped toward Route 9.
The rain began to fall in heavy, blinding sheets.
They arrived at the desolate airstrip with only five minutes to spare.
A sleek private jet sat idling on the dark runway.
Daniel clutched the flash drive, ready to surrender everything to save his child.
The cabin door opened, and a set of stairs folded down.
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But Richard did not walk out of the plane.
Instead, ten heavily armed mercenaries stepped onto the tarmac and raised their weapons at Daniel.
