Chapter 1 - The Pretend Departure
Marcus stood perfectly still in the hallway as the terrifying words of his six-year-old daughter echoed in his mind.
He pulled Lily tightly against his chest and smoothed her hair down with a trembling hand.
He promised her in a soft whisper that he would never let anything bad happen to her.
Marcus grabbed his heavy black suitcase and walked loudly toward the front door to maintain the illusion of leaving.
He opened the heavy oak door and slammed it shut to ensure the sound echoed throughout the entire house.
But Marcus did not walk down the driveway to the waiting airport taxi.
He paid the driver a hundred dollars through the window and told him to leave immediately due to a family emergency.
He quietly slipped off his leather shoes and moved silently toward the side entrance of the dark garage.
Marcus pulled his smartphone from his pocket and opened the secret surveillance application he had installed months ago.
He held his breath as he watched the live video feed from the hidden camera positioned in the kitchen ceiling.
Sarah was standing at the marble counter and pouring a dark liquid from a small glass vial into a cup of apple juice.
He watched as her cell phone buzzed and she quickly answered the incoming call.
She spoke affectionately to the man on the other end of the line and referred to him as Julian.
She told Julian that Marcus was finally on his way to the airport and would drink his thermos of coffee during the ride.
She laughed and mentioned that the specific dosage hidden in his morning coffee was designed to trigger a massive cardiac arrest at high altitude.
May you like
Marcus dropped his phone onto the concrete floor in pure shock as the horrifying reality set in.
He realized that his upcoming business flight to Chicago was actually a carefully planned assassination attempt.
