Chapter 5 - The Antidote Ultimatum
Adrian stared at the glowing screen, his entire body trembling with an uncontrollable, violent fury.
"If she dies, I will hunt you down and burn your entire empire to the ground," Adrian promised softly.
Victoria laughed, adjusting her diamond earrings with absolute, terrifying indifference.
"You are in absolutely no position to make threats, my desperate former groom."
"I have the only vial of the antidote in existence, and I am willing to make a very simple trade."
Adrian looked down at his tiny, struggling daughter, knowing he had no other option.
"What exactly do you want from me?" Adrian asked, his voice cracking with heavy emotion.
"You will meet me at the abandoned shipping docks on Pier 44 in exactly one hour," Victoria demanded.
"You will come completely alone, and you will sign the corporate transfer deeds I require."
"In exchange, I will hand you the medicine to save your precious little bastard child."
The screen went completely black as Victoria abruptly ended the encrypted transmission.
Adrian quickly led Clara down the alley until they reached a small, hidden underground medical clinic.
Dr. Vance, an old combat medic with a scarred face, rushed them inside and locked the heavy iron door.
He placed baby Mia on a stainless steel table, connecting her tiny body to several life-support monitors.
"The toxin is aggressively attacking her central nervous system, Adrian," Dr. Vance said grimly.
"I can slow the heart failure with adrenaline, but I absolutely cannot synthesize a cure in time."
Adrian kissed Clara’s forehead, his eyes filled with a terrifying, fierce determination.
"Stay here with the doctor, Clara, because I am going to get the medicine for your sister."
Clara grabbed his bloody tuxedo sleeve, begging him not to face the evil woman alone.
"I will come back for you both, I swear it on my life," Adrian promised, pulling away gently.
He raided the doctor’s hidden tactical locker, strapping a heavy bulletproof vest over his ruined dress shirt.
He loaded three automatic pistols and secured a razor-sharp combat knife to his boot.
Adrian drove a borrowed motorcycle through the freezing rain, heading directly toward the desolate shipping docks.
He arrived at Pier 44, cutting the engine and walking slowly toward the towering metal cargo crates.
A massive spotlight suddenly clicked on, blinding him with a brilliant, intense white beam.
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Victoria stood high above him on a steel catwalk, holding a small glass vial filled with glowing blue liquid.
Beside her, dangling terrifyingly over the freezing, churning ocean by a single rusty chain, was the woman Adrian loved.
