Chapter 5 - The Hostage
Avery screamed and lunged for the door, but Marcus caught her easily.
"Where is my son?" she demanded, tears of pure terror spilling down her cheeks.
"My mother is a monster, Avery, but she is an efficient one," Marcus replied softly.
"She anticipated I might interfere, so she moved the child ten minutes ago."
Avery fell to her knees, the crushing weight of the Sterling family's cruelty finally breaking her.
They treated human lives like chess pieces on a diamond-encrusted board.
"Give me the voting shares, Avery, and I will help you find Leo," Marcus offered again.
Avery looked up at him, her despair slowly morphing into a burning, white-hot rage.
She realized that giving Marcus the power would only replace one tyrant with another.
She wiped her tears and stood up, her posture straightening with newfound resolve.
"I am not giving you my shares, Marcus," Avery said with deadly calm.
She picked up a heavy bronze lamp from the nightstand and smashed it against the fire alarm on the wall.
Deafening sirens instantly blared throughout the massive estate, triggering the emergency sprinkler system.
Marcus cursed as freezing water rained down on them, ruining his expensive suit.
In the chaos, Avery unlocked the door and sprinted out into the flooded hallway.
Guests were screaming and running toward the exits in absolute panic.
Avery pushed through the soaking wet billionaires, searching desperately for her husband.
She found Liam standing near the grand staircase, looking bewildered and confused by the sirens.
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Avery marched right up to him and slapped him across the face with all her strength.
The sharp crack echoed over the alarms, and Liam stumbled backward, his eyes suddenly snapping into sharp focus.
