Chapter 3 - Shifting Loyalties
The thick smoke burned their eyes and made it almost impossible to breathe.
Elias immediately dropped to the floor, pulling Lily tightly against his chest to protect her from the chemical gas.
"Arthur, get them to the VIP room!" Elias shouted over the sound of breaking glass.
Arthur did not hesitate, grabbing the terrified saleswoman Vanessa by the arm and leading the way.
They crawled through the choking haze, using the heavy display cases as cover from the laser sights.
Marcus was coughing violently, his expensive suit ruined as he stumbled blindly toward the back office.
"Who did this?" Marcus screamed, completely losing his confident composure.
Elias ignored him, keeping his focus entirely on getting his daughter to safety.
They finally reached the reinforced steel door of the VIP suite, and Arthur quickly punched in the emergency code.
The door slid open, and they all scrambled inside before the smoke could follow them.
Arthur sealed the door, locking them in a soundproof and heavily armored room filled with rare gems.
Lily was crying softly, holding her plush toy over her nose and mouth.
Elias checked her carefully, letting out a breath of relief when he saw she was unharmed.
Vanessa was shaking uncontrollably in the corner, her previous arrogance completely shattered by the sudden attack.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for how I treated you," Vanessa sobbed, finally breaking down.
Elias did not have time to hold a grudge, his mind already calculating their next move.
He pulled a heavily encrypted satellite phone from his pocket, a device no ordinary man would ever possess.
He dialed a private number that connected directly to the city's police commissioner.
"This is Thorne, we have a code red at the flagship store," Elias said urgently.
The voice on the other end of the line was not the commissioner.
"Hello, little brother," a chilling, familiar voice echoed through the speaker.
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Elias felt his blood run cold as he recognized his estranged brother, Julian.
"The police are not coming for you, Elias," Julian whispered right before the line went dead.
