“I’ll sn@p your arm,” my brother-in-law sneered, throwing a pair of MMA gloves at my feet and threatening to send me to the hospital in front of my terrified little girl. He thought he was facing a helpless mother with no way to defend herself. What he didn’t know was that I was a combat veteran. And he had just awakened a Special Operations major.

I left Lily in the secure shipping container under the strict guard of a heavily armed, automated sentry drone.

She had enough food, water, and movies downloaded to an iPad to last for three days.

"Do not open this door for anyone but me," I kissed her forehead before locking the heavy steel vault.

I drove a stolen, untraceable sedan four hundred miles north to the bustling heart of Chicago.

Jax had tracked the GPS coordinates from the mercenary's device to a massive corporate high-rise downtown.

The building was officially owned by a legitimate international pharmaceutical logistics company.

In reality, it was the primary American money-laundering front for the buyers hunting my daughter.

I parked in the underground garage, wearing a sharp business suit that hid my Kevlar vest and dual pistols.

I bypassed the primary security desk by flashing a forged biometric access badge Jax had programmed.

I rode the glass elevator directly to the executive penthouse suite on the forty-second floor.

The doors slid open to reveal a sprawling, minimalist office filled with expensive modern art.

A tall, impeccably dressed man was pouring himself a glass of expensive scotch at the wet bar.

His name was Elias Vance, the chief financial proxy for the global syndicate trying to harvest Lily.

He turned around, entirely surprised to see a stranger standing in his highly secure private office.

"Who are you, and how did you get past the lobby security?" Vance demanded, his tone dripping with arrogance.

I did not answer him with words.

I drew my suppressed pistol and shot the crystal glass of scotch completely out of his hand.

The liquid and shattered glass exploded across his expensive Italian suit.

Vance screamed and fell backward over the leather sofa, clutching his bleeding hand in absolute terror.

"My name is Sarah, and you are trying to buy my daughter," I said, walking slowly toward him.

He scrambled desperately toward his heavy oak desk, reaching blindly for a panic button underneath.

I fired a second round, putting a bullet precisely through the wooden desk directly next to his fingers.

He froze instantly, finally realizing exactly what kind of situation he was in.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Vance lied, sweating profusely as he stared down my barrel.

I grabbed him by his silk tie and dragged him violently across the polished hardwood floor.

I slammed his face onto the glass coffee table, pressing the hot suppressor directly against his temple.

"Project Thunderbird," I whispered coldly. "Where is the auction taking place?"

Vance hesitated for a fraction of a second, evaluating his loyalty against his desire to live.

I applied more pressure to the barrel, leaning my entire body weight onto his head.

"Geneva!" Vance cried out, his voice cracking with pure desperation. "The buyers are gathering in Geneva!"

He confessed that the global syndicate was meeting at an alpine fortress to bid on Lily's genetic data.

David had set up a live feed to prove the merchandise was secure before I ruined his plans at the mill.

Now, the syndicate leaders were waiting for the mercenary strike team to deliver the physical asset.

I pulled a heavy zip-tie from my pocket and secured Vance tightly to the metal radiator.

"If you call your security team, I will come back and finish the job," I promised him.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

I walked out of the office with a completely new objective.

I was going to Switzerland.

Chapter 14 - The Proxy