Chapter 7 - The Skyscraper Standoff
Darius dropped the phone and bolted toward the exit.
Nia was right beside him, her face pale with absolute terror.
They drove through the chaotic Atlanta traffic, ignoring every red light and stop sign.
They arrived at the Bennett Cold Logistics tower in record time.
The building was sixty stories high, piercing the cloudy afternoon sky.
They rushed into the lobby and found the private executive elevator waiting with open doors.
"He wants us to come up," Darius said, stepping inside.
The ride to the top floor felt like it took an eternity.
When the doors finally parted, they stepped onto the open-air rooftop helipad.
The wind whipped violently around them.
Marcus was standing near the very edge of the building.
He was holding little Leo by the collar of his small jacket over the terrifying drop.
"Stop!" Nia screamed, falling to her knees on the hard concrete.
"I will give you anything you want, please just put him down!" she begged.
Marcus looked at them with wild, desperate eyes.
"You ruined everything!" he shouted over the howling wind.
"I built this company just as much as you did, Darius, and you treated me like an employee!"
"You were my brother!" Darius yelled back, taking a slow step forward.
"I trusted you with my life, and you destroyed my family for money!"
The little boy was crying softly, his tiny hands gripping Marcus's arm in fear.
"Daddy," Leo whimpered, looking directly at Darius.
Hearing the word shattered every defense Darius had left in his soul.
"Let him go, Marcus, and take me instead," Darius offered, holding his arms out.
"I will sign the entire company over to you right now."
Marcus laughed, a crazy, hollow sound that was swallowed by the wind.
"The company is worthless without the offshore funds, and you know it," Marcus spat.
He dangled the boy a few inches further over the edge.
"I am going to make you watch everything you love fall away."
Suddenly, the roof access door burst open behind them.
Darius's mother, Evelyn, stepped onto the roof holding a heavy steel walking cane.
"You always were a pathetic coward, Marcus," the seventy-one-year-old woman announced loudly.
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Marcus turned his head in surprise for a fraction of a second.
That was all the time Darius needed.
