Chapter 3 - The Threat
The heavy elevator doors slid completely shut, cutting off Tyler's furious voice.
I collapsed aggressively against the polished brass railing, my entire body shaking violently.
"He can't take Lily away from me," I gasped, fighting back a rising wave of sheer panic.
"Tyler has absolutely zero interest in raising a child," Giovanni stated calmly, standing completely still in the center of the elevator.
"You don't know him," I argued desperately.
"I know entirely too much about him," Giovanni corrected me smoothly.
I looked up at him, finally realizing just how much deep trouble I was currently in.
"Why do you know so much about my pathetic ex-husband?" I demanded.
"Tyler currently owes a massive gambling debt to some extremely dangerous people in this city."
I felt all the blood completely drain from my exhausted face.
"How much money?" I whispered.
"Two million dollars," Giovanni answered without any hesitation.
"And they officially told him that if he doesn't pay by Friday, they will permanently collect the debt from his only living heir."
My heart stopped completely inside my chest.
His only living heir was Lily.
"He wants full legal custody so he can use my five-year-old daughter as absolute leverage," I cried out in horror.
"Tyler is a truly desperate man, Jessica, and desperate men are incredibly dangerous."
The elevator softly dinged, opening directly into the hotel's luxurious underground parking garage.
A massive, armored black SUV was waiting silently by the doors with the engine already running.
"Where exactly are we going now?" I asked, stepping back nervously from the vehicle.
"We are going immediately to your apartment to pick up Lily, and then you are both coming with me."
"I am absolutely not taking my daughter anywhere with a complete stranger," I refused firmly.
Giovanni let out a long, heavy sigh, running his hand through his perfectly styled dark hair.
"Jessica, the dangerous men Tyler owes money to already know exactly where you live."
Before I could even process his terrifying words, his cell phone rang loudly.
He pulled it out of his expensive suit jacket, answering it instantly.
"Speak," Giovanni commanded.
He listened carefully in absolute silence for ten agonizing seconds.
His dark expression grew incredibly cold and undeniably lethal.
He hung up the phone and looked directly at me.
"We need to leave right now," he ordered forcefully.
"Why?" I asked, my voice rising in pure terror.
"My security team just found the front door of your apartment completely kicked in."
I practically threw myself into the back seat of the heavy armored SUV.
"Is Lily okay?" I screamed at him as he climbed in right beside me.
"My men arrived just in time to stop them from taking her," he promised quickly.
The massive vehicle aggressively tore out of the dark garage, speeding recklessly into the busy Chicago night.
I covered my face with my trembling hands, sobbing openly in the expensive leather seat.
Giovanni reached out and gently pulled my shaking hands away from my tear-stained face.
"I swear on my own life, Jessica, nothing will happen to your daughter tonight."
I looked desperately into his intense grey eyes, wanting so badly to believe him.
We arrived at my cheap apartment building in exactly ten minutes.
The hallway was swarming with Giovanni’s heavily armed men in dark suits.
I ran aggressively past them, bursting into my tiny, completely ruined living room.
My babysitter, Mrs. Higgins, was sitting on the torn couch, clutching a cup of tea and crying hysterically.
And sitting right next to her, clutching her favorite stuffed bear, was my beautiful daughter, Lily.
I fell to my knees instantly, wrapping my arms fiercely around her tiny body.
"Mommy's here, baby, Mommy's right here," I sobbed into her soft hair.
Lily hugged me back tightly, her small face completely pale with fear.
"The bad men broke the door, Mommy," she whispered softly.
Giovanni walked slowly into the ruined room, his large presence immediately demanding complete authority.
He looked briefly at the shattered doorframe and the overturned cheap furniture.
"Pack exactly one bag of essential clothes," he commanded me quietly.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked, holding Lily tightly to my chest.
"To my private estate," he replied.
He turned to his lead security guard, his voice dropping to a dangerously low, lethal tone.
"Find the men who did this, and make absolutely sure they never walk again."
Suddenly, the shattered front door was violently pushed open even wider.
Two uniformed Chicago police officers walked into my living room, their hands resting firmly on their weapons.
"Jessica Hale?" the older officer asked sharply.
May you like
"Yes, that's me," I answered, standing up slowly.
"You are currently under arrest for the attempted murder of your ex-husband, Tyler."
