The black Range Rover glided into the underground private garage of the Manhattan penthouse like a ghost. The heavy engine cut out, leaving a suffocating silence in the dark cabin.
Heidi shoved her door open. Her legs were shaking, but she forced her muscles to lock. She ripped open the back door and pulled Seraphina into her chest. She buried her face in her daughter's hair, breathing in the scent of her skin. Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard it physically hurt.
Caleb jumped down from the other side. He adjusted his heavy tactical backpack. His cold eyes scanned the concrete pillars, confirming they had not been followed.
They walked into the private elevator. The heavy bulletproof steel doors slid shut, locking with a loud, mechanical thud.
The elevator shot up to the top floor.
Inside the penthouse, Heidi set the children on the plush sofa. She poured two glasses of warm milk. When she handed the glass to Seraphina, the collar of the girl's dress slipped down.
A dark purple bruise wrapped around her small neck. The rope burn.
Heidi's stomach violently cramped. The air vanished from her lungs. She stared at the bruised skin, and a wave of pure, blinding murder flooded her veins. Her fingertips turned ice-cold.
As she stood up, the heavy front door of the penthouse unlocked with a soft click. Alex Stone, her private security contractor who had been pre-positioned at the residence, stepped out of the foyer's shadows and walked into the living room. He dropped to one knee on the hardwood floor.
"I failed to detect the ambush, Dr. Surgeon," Alex said, his voice tight. "Punish me."
Heidi slowly stood up. She raised her hand, cutting off his apology. Her eyes were completely dead.
"Go to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital," Heidi ordered, her voice devoid of any human emotion, slipping effortlessly into the cold, flawless British accent she had meticulously cultivated for her new identity. "Bobbie Weeks is there. Handle him."
Caleb suddenly unzipped his backpack. He pulled out a sleek black tablet and tapped the screen. A map with a blinking red dot appeared.
"Mommy," Caleb said, his brow furrowing as he looked up. "My tracker's signal just vanished. The map shows its last location was a big building with the Page company name on it... there were a lot of little test tube icons on the building's blueprint. The pin had my blood on it from when I pricked my finger."
Heidi's chest froze. Her mind raced through the implications at lightning speed. If Christian ran that DNA against the national database, he would find out Caleb was his biological son. Her entire four-year cover would be blown to pieces.
She didn't hesitate. She pulled her encrypted satellite phone from her pocket and dialed her brother's secure line.
"Iain," Heidi commanded, her voice a low, urgent hiss. "Christian has Caleb's DNA. He's running it at the Page Consortium bio-lab right now. I need your team to breach their network. Plant a Trojan, overwrite the results with a randomized negative string, whatever it takes. It has to be done before their sequencer finishes the run."
She watched the progress bar on her own mobile terminal as her brother's team synced with her. A moment later, it hit one hundred percent.
Heidi let out a sharp breath. The crushing weight on her chest lifted slightly. She looked at the confirmation screen, then turned her icy glare back to Alex.
"Go," she commanded.
Across the city, inside the ICU of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Bobbie Weeks groaned. He was handcuffed to the metal bed rail. His shattered wrist throbbed with agonizing pain.
Outside the door, the two NYPD officers suddenly slumped to the floor without a sound.
The door pushed open. Alex Stone walked in. He wore a white doctor's coat and a blue surgical mask.
Bobbie's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to scream for help.
Alex lunged forward. He grabbed Bobbie's shattered wrist and twisted it violently.
Bobbie's jaw unhinged in a silent scream. The pain paralyzed his vocal cords. Sweat exploded across his forehead.
Alex pulled a glass syringe filled with clear liquid from his pocket. He pressed the sharp needle directly against Bobbie's throbbing carotid artery.
"If you breathe a single word about Heidi Mcdaniel to Christian Page," Alex whispered, his voice like grinding stones, "this neurotoxin will stop your heart in three seconds. You will suffocate while fully conscious."
Bobbie felt warm urine spread across the hospital sheets. He nodded frantically, his eyes bulging with absolute terror.
Alex sneered. He pulled a micro-listening capsule from his pocket. He forced Bobbie's jaw open and shoved the metal pill deep down his throat.
"Swallow," Alex ordered.
Bobbie gagged and swallowed. Alex turned and vanished into the hallway.
Ten minutes later, the door slammed open again.
Quinn Doyle, Christian's executive assistant, marched into the room with two massive bodyguards. His face was red with stress.
"Who hired you?" Quinn barked, grabbing Bobbie by the collar of his hospital gown. "Tell me everything about the woman in the factory!"
Bobbie shook violently. He looked at Quinn, but he felt the metal capsule sitting in his stomach.
"I don't know!" Bobbie cried out. "It was a random kidnapping! I just wanted the ransom! I swear to God!"
Quinn shoved him back onto the mattress in disgust. He pulled out his phone, his hands shaking. "Mr. Page. The suspect knows nothing. It's a dead end."
Inside the Manhattan penthouse, Heidi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window. She listened to Quinn's frustrated voice through the earpiece in her ear.
She pulled the earpiece out and crushed it under the heel of her stiletto.
Brigette dared to touch her children. The slow, methodical revenge plan was over. Heidi was going to burn her world to the ground right now.
She picked up her encrypted satellite phone. She dialed her brother, Iain Mcdaniel.
"Liquidate one billion dollars from the offshore trust," Heidi ordered. "Prepare to short the Page family's peripheral assets."
Her other phone lit up on the glass table. It was an email from Vanguard Academy. The admission applications for Caleb and Seraphina were approved.
Heidi gripped the edge of the table. Her knuckles turned white. The war for blood and power had officially begun.
