Chapter 3 - The Inside Job
I stared at the terrifying video on my phone with my blood running completely cold.
The masked men in my penthouse were destroying my furniture and pointing weapons at my innocent dogs.
The text message below the video contained a very simple and deadly ultimatum.
It ordered me to release the enforcer at the farmhouse or my pets would be executed immediately.
I looked at the man in the navy suit who was now surrounded by my security guards.
He smiled arrogantly, knowing his syndicate had planned for every possible contingency.
I signaled my head of security to stand down and lower his rifle.
My guards looked confused but followed my strict command without hesitation.
I told the enforcer he could leave the property safely if he called off his men in the city.
He chuckled and adjusted his cheap tie with a newfound sense of confidence.
He said he was not leaving the farmhouse without a signed transfer of the deed.
I reminded him that the deed was locked in an irrevocable trust and completely untouchable.
He stepped closer to me, completely ignoring the armed guards standing just a few feet away.
He whispered that his boss already knew all about the blind trust.
He revealed that they had an inside man who possessed the master override codes for my legal accounts.
I felt a sickening knot form deep in my stomach.
Only one person in the world had access to those highly classified legal files.
I turned my gaze toward my brother, wondering if he had betrayed me on a much larger scale.
Brandon was still kneeling in the dirt, sobbing uncontrollably and looking entirely pathetic.
He was far too incompetent to pull off a sophisticated corporate heist.
Tessa was leaning against the stone gate, frantically typing on her cell phone.
I demanded that my security guards confiscate her phone immediately.
A guard snatched the device from her hands and handed it to me.
I looked at her screen and saw she was actively messaging my trusted property manager, David.
David had worked for my family for twenty years and practically raised me after my grandmother died.
The messages proved that David was the one providing Tessa with my forged signatures and legal documents.
I felt my heart shatter into a million jagged pieces at the ultimate betrayal.
I dialed David's personal cell phone number from my own device.
The phone rang three times before he finally answered with a shaky voice.
I asked him why he would ever destroy our family legacy for a cheap criminal syndicate.
David let out a broken, agonizing sob through the phone speaker.
He told me he had absolutely no choice because the syndicate had kidnapped his teenage daughter.
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Before I could process this horrifying new information, the sound of roaring engines filled the air.
Six black, heavily armored SUVs smashed violently through the wooden fences bordering my wildflower fields.
