Chapter 8 - The Unlikely Ally
The lead mercenary slowly lowered his rifle and smiled a terrifying, greedy smile.
"Mrs. Kesha Reynolds, it is a massive pleasure to finally meet you," he mocked with a fake bow.
"I will gladly wire you one hundred million dollars right now if you leave my family alone," I offered firmly.
The mercenary laughed heavily and shook his head.
"That is an incredibly generous offer, ma'am, but we prefer hard collateral," he replied.
"Daniel promised us four beautiful, healthy heirs to sell on the underground market."
A sickening wave of pure nausea washed over me at the absolute evil of his words.
Daniel had not just planned to use them for a trust fund, he planned to traffic his own children.
"I can authorize a direct bank transfer from my secure Swiss account in thirty seconds," I pleaded desperately.
"Do it," the mercenary demanded, tossing a high-tech digital tablet onto the floor near my feet.
I slowly knelt down, keeping my movements entirely predictable, and picked up the device.
I rapidly typed in my banking credentials and prepared to execute the massive transfer.
Suddenly, a bright red error message flashed aggressively across the screen.
BIOMETRIC RETINA SCAN REQUIRED FOR TRANSFERS OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
My heart completely stopped beating as I stared at the devastating warning.
The security feature I had installed to protect my wealth was now going to cost me my life.
"I need my personal laptop to bypass this security lock," I explained, my voice trembling for the first time.
The mercenary's face darkened with absolute fury.
"You are lying to stall for time," he accused me, raising his weapon again.
"Go down into that basement and grab two of the kids right now," he ordered his men.
I raised my handgun and aimed it directly at his head.
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"The first man who takes a step toward that door dies," I threatened with pure venom in my voice.
The mercenary just laughed and placed his finger tightly on the trigger.
