Chapter 6 - The Ultimatum
Daniel was aggressively thrown out onto the cold city sidewalk by the hotel security team.
He stared at his ringing phone, entirely too terrified to answer the incoming call.
The phone finally stopped ringing, only to be immediately followed by a chilling text message.
The message read that he had exactly twenty-four hours to deliver the three million dollars or face fatal consequences.
Daniel stumbled down the street in a complete daze, entirely devoid of hope or a single dollar to his name.
He desperately decided to go back to the Beacon Hill house to search for anything of value he could pawn.
He thought maybe he could rip the copper wiring out of the walls or sell the expensive kitchen appliances.
Meanwhile, Claire was sitting in a luxury airport lounge, waiting for her first-class flight to Dubai.
She was sipping a mimosa and scrolling happily through the thousands of dollars pouring into her donation link.
She decided to capitalize on the viral momentum by publicly filing for divorce from Daniel online.
She posted a heavily edited screenshot of digital divorce papers to her massive social media following.
She captioned the post claiming that she had finally escaped a highly toxic and financially abusive family.
Her followers flooded the comment section with endless praise, calling her a brave and stunning survivor.
Claire smiled wickedly and turned off her phone as the boarding announcement for her flight echoed through the lounge.
She grabbed her designer carry-on bag and walked confidently toward the boarding gate.
Suddenly, two men wearing dark, inexpensive suits stepped directly into her path.
Claire rolled her eyes and arrogantly told them to move out of her way.
One of the men grabbed her arm with a grip like a steel vise and flashed a concealed weapon beneath his jacket.
He coldly informed Claire that she was absolutely not getting on that airplane today.
Back at the Beacon Hill house, Daniel kicked the front door open and rushed frantically inside.
He grabbed a heavy hammer from the garage and began aggressively smashing the marble countertops in the kitchen.
He was in a state of pure, unadulterated panic, desperate to find the hidden wall safe I had installed decades ago.
He swung the hammer wildly, completely destroying the beautiful home his mother had lovingly designed.
Suddenly, the heavy front door swung open again, and heavy footsteps echoed across the ruined marble foyer.
Daniel froze, dropping the hammer to the floor as pure terror gripped his rapidly beating heart.
Three massive, heavily tattooed men walked slowly into the destroyed kitchen.
Daniel raised his hands in surrender and began desperately begging for just a few more days to gather the money.
The lead enforcer laughed a dark, menacing laugh that sent shivers violently down Daniel's spine.
He casually pulled a heavy wooden chair from the dining table and sat down backwards.
He looked at Daniel and stated that they were absolutely not here to collect any money from him.
The enforcer pulled a crumpled photograph from his pocket and tossed it onto the kitchen island.
Daniel looked down at the photograph and frowned in complete and utter confusion.
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The picture was a high-resolution surveillance shot of Claire secretly meeting with the loan sharks months ago.
The enforcer calmly explained that Daniel had never actually signed any illegal loan documents.
