My daughter choked out, “Dad, help,” moments before the call went completely silent. I raced down the highway at 100 mph, driving straight toward her in-laws’ mansion. When I got there, my son-in-law stood across the porch, holding a baseball bat with a smug grin on his face. “This is a private family matter,” he said icily. “Your daughter needed to be disciplined.”

I stared at the barrel of the gun pointing directly at my heart.

Vance had been my most trusted partner for eight long years.

We had bled together on the cold streets of this city.

"You really think you can retire and keep your nose out of our business?" Vance asked.

Arthur took a slow sip of his bourbon.

"You have no idea how the real world operates, David."

Julian laughed and stepped forward with the baseball bat.

"Let me take his kneecaps out before we drag him to the basement."

Julian swung the bat at my legs with terrifying speed.

I didn't step back.

I lunged forward, letting the wooden bat glance off my thick leather jacket.

I grabbed Julian's wrist and twisted it until a loud snap echoed over the pouring rain.

Julian screamed in pure agony and dropped the bat onto the wet marble.

Vance panicked and pulled the trigger.

I used Julian's body as a human shield.

The bullet grazed Julian's shoulder, sending blood spraying across the pristine white pillars.

Arthur shouted in horror and dropped his glass.

I shoved the bleeding Julian directly into Vance, sending both men tumbling down the slippery stairs.

I didn't wait for them to recover.

I sprinted past Miriam and Arthur, forcing my way through the massive front doors of the mansion.

I slammed the heavy oak doors shut behind me and locked the deadbolt.

The foyer was completely dark, smelling faintly of bleach and copper.

"Audrey!" I yelled into the cavernous house.

There was no answer.

I reached inside my jacket and pulled out a heavy tactical flashlight.

The beam cut through the darkness, revealing perfectly clean hardwood floors.

I ran toward the grand staircase leading to the second floor.

Just as my foot hit the first step, a thick steel security gate slammed down from the ceiling.

It completely blocked my path upstairs.

I heard the distinct sound of pressurized valves opening.

Thick, yellow gas began pouring into the hallway from the air vents along the floorboards.

My eyes immediately started to burn like fire.

I pulled my shirt over my nose, desperately searching for another way up.

A small digital screen on the wall suddenly flickered to life.

Arthur's face appeared on the monitor.

"You should have stayed in your garage, David," he said.

The heavy steel doors behind me locked with a loud, electronic clank.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

"That gas will paralyze your lungs in exactly two minutes," Arthur sneered.

I raised my flashlight and smashed it directly into the digital screen.

Chapter 2 - The House of Glass