Chapter 5 - The Hostage Exchange
I dropped to my knees in the ruined hospital nursery.
The nurses tearfully explained that Arthur and three armed men had stormed the ward.
They had taken the twins and left a terrifyingly simple message for me.
I found a burner phone resting inside Leo's empty bassinet.
The screen lit up instantly with an incoming call from an unknown number.
I answered the phone, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
Arthur's arrogant voice echoed through the cheap speaker.
He told me he had the babies and was currently heading toward the state border.
He demanded that I transfer the original deed of his parents' house back into his name.
He also wanted the passwords to my secure military accounts to completely erase the evidence of his uncle's treason.
I agreed to his terms immediately, knowing I needed to keep him on the phone.
While he gloated about his flawless victory, I used my encrypted smartwatch to triangulate the burner phone's signal.
The GPS coordinates indicated he was moving toward a private, abandoned shipping yard near the coast.
I sprinted back to my stolen military vehicle and sped toward the docks.
I arrived just as the sun began to set, casting long, dark shadows across the rusted shipping containers.
I saw Arthur's luxury SUV parked near the edge of a deep water pier.
Brooke was standing outside the vehicle, holding both of the infant car seats.
I stepped out of my vehicle and raised my stolen sidearm.
Arthur stepped out from behind the SUV, holding a remote detonator in his hand.
He smiled cruelly and revealed that the SUV was wired with military-grade explosives supplied by his uncle.
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He pressed his thumb against the trigger and told me to drop my weapon.
Suddenly, the sharp red dot of a sniper rifle laser appeared directly in the center of Arthur's forehead.
