Chapter 3 - The Race Against Time
Nathaniel coughed as the acrid smoke filled the small server room.
He grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher from the wall and smashed it against the reinforced glass window.
The glass shattered, setting off the building's main fire alarms.
He climbed through the broken window, cutting his hands on the jagged edges.
He sprinted down the emergency stairwell just as corporate security guards rushed up to investigate.
Nathaniel managed to slip past them and escape into the cold night air.
He drove wildly back to his estate, his hands trembling on the steering wheel.
It was 4:00 AM, and he only had four hours to stop the bulldozers.
He burst through the front doors of his mansion, shouting for his mother.
Eleanor Ashford emerged from the library, looking perfectly calm and holding a cup of tea.
"You are bleeding, Nathaniel," she noted, setting the cup down.
"Someone on my board is laundering money and using you as leverage," he gasped.
Eleanor sighed and opened a drawer in her mahogany desk.
She pulled out a sleek, loaded handgun and placed it on the table.
"I am aware," she said quietly.
"Your Vice President, Marcus Thorne, threatened me yesterday."
Nathaniel stared at her in utter shock.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.
"Because Marcus has the local police chief on his payroll," she explained.
"If we move against him legally, he will destroy our company and frame you for the fraud."
Nathaniel realized the terrifying scope of the conspiracy.
"He is tearing down an occupied building in three hours just to bury the evidence of his theft," Nathaniel said.
He grabbed his car keys, his jaw set in absolute determination.
"I am going to stop him."
Eleanor grabbed his arm, her eyes filled with sudden fear.
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"You cannot go back there, Nathaniel."
"Marcus just sent a tactical team to the apartment building to ensure nobody leaves."
