Chapter 2 - The Fortress
The deafening shockwave rattled the heavy armored glass of the SUV.
I twisted around in my seat to look out the rear window.
A massive pillar of orange fire and black smoke was rising from the exact location of the Meridian Theater.
My manager and the entire building had just been completely erased from existence.
Harlan Voss sat in the front passenger seat, staring straight ahead as if nothing had happened.
He calmly pressed a button on the dashboard to communicate with his convoy.
He ordered his men to secure the perimeter of his estate before we arrived.
I sat shivering in the back seat, realizing how easily this man could erase my life too.
We drove for another thirty minutes before turning onto a secluded, heavily wooded road.
A massive set of wrought-iron gates swung open to reveal a sprawling stone mansion.
The estate looked more like a military fortress than a family home.
Armed guards patrolled the immaculate lawns with large tactical rifles slung across their chests.
The SUV stopped in front of the grand entrance, and a guard immediately opened my door.
Harlan stepped out and gestured for me to follow him inside the massive house.
He led me through a breathtaking foyer decorated with priceless art and marble floors.
We entered a high-tech medical wing hidden behind a heavy steel security door.
Belle was sleeping peacefully in a large hospital bed, connected to several advanced monitoring machines.
The color had finally returned to her pale cheeks.
Harlan stared at his sleeping daughter, his terrifying demeanor softening for just a fraction of a second.
He turned to me and offered me one million dollars to stay in the house as her temporary guardian.
He explained that Belle trusted me, and he needed someone completely outside of his criminal network to watch over her.
I looked at my dirty uniform, remembering the eviction notice sitting in my purse.
A million dollars would solve every single problem in my miserable life.
I nodded slowly, accepting the dangerous deal.
Harlan summoned a maid to show me to a luxurious guest suite down the hall.
The maid handed me a stack of fresh, expensive clothes and left me alone in the room.
I took off my ruined apron and dumped the contents of my purse onto the bed.
My keys, my cheap lip gloss, and my eviction notice tumbled out onto the silk sheets.
Something else fell out that did not belong to me.
It was a heavy, unmarked black burner phone.
I stared at the device, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
May you like
The screen suddenly lit up with a new incoming text message.
The message read, "Is the Voss girl dead yet?"
