Chapter 8 - The Shipyard Exchange
Emma's blood turned entirely to ice at the terrifying sound of Maddox's voice.
"If you touch him, I will kill you myself," Emma promised with a remarkably calm voice.
"Bring the flash drive to the abandoned shipping yards on the east river in one hour," Maddox ordered.
"If you call the police, your father will die instantly."
Maddox hung up the phone, leaving Emma standing completely frozen on the sidewalk.
Elias insisted they call the FBI, but Emma violently refused to risk her father's fragile life.
She relied heavily on the crisis management skills she utilized during hostage negotiations in the Middle East.
She sent a rapid encrypted message to her old security contacts from Horizon Passage.
They arrived at the rusted, desolate shipyard just as the sun began to rise over the city.
Emma walked alone toward the central loading dock, holding the flash drive high in the air.
Dozens of Maddox's armed mercenaries stepped out from behind the shipping containers, surrounding her completely.
Grant Maddox stood at the end of the pier, smiling his arrogant, smug smile.
Emma prepared to negotiate for her father's release, bracing herself to see him bruised or terrified.
Instead, she watched in absolute shock as the door to Maddox's luxury SUV opened.
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Her father stepped out of the vehicle, looking perfectly healthy, calm, and completely unharmed.
He was holding a cup of hot coffee and laughing at a joke one of the mercenaries had just told him.
