The phone was wrenched from my hand.
Eleanor smashed it onto the hardwood floor, the screen shattering into a spiderweb of glass.
"Drug her," she ordered the men, her voice shrill with panic. "Now."
I fought. I kicked. I sank my teeth into a hand that tried to smother my mouth. But I was weak, my muscles trembling from days of starvation.
A needle bit into the soft flesh of my arm.
Then, the lights went out.
Not just in the room. The entire estate plunged into darkness. The electronic locks on the gates buzzed once, then died.
A low, thrumming sound vibrated through the floorboards beneath me. It grew louder, a rhythmic beating that rattled the windows. A helicopter.
"What is happening?" Gabe yelled, stumbling to the window.
Outside, the manicured lawn was being shredded by the landing skids of a black helicopter. The side door slid open before it even touched the ground.
Men poured out. They weren't police. They wore black tactical gear, moving with terrifying precision. No badges. Just efficiency.
The front door of the house exploded inward with a deafening crash.
I heard shouting downstairs. The sickening crunch of expensive furniture breaking. The choked screams of the security staff being neutralized.
The bedroom door flew open.
A man stood there. He was young, maybe thirty. He wore a bespoke suit that cost more than this house, but he held a gun with the ease of a soldier. His eyes scanned the room, landing on the doctor holding the empty syringe.
"Step away from her," the man said. He didn't shout. He didn't have to. His voice was a calm command amidst the chaos.
The doctor dropped the syringe, his hands shaking.
"Who are you?" Eleanor shrieked, backing away. "This is private property!"
The man ignored her. He walked straight to me, holstering his weapon in one fluid motion. He knelt beside the bed, his eyes searching my face for injuries.
"Charlotte?" he asked. His voice was gentle, a stark contrast to the violence outside.
"Yes," I whispered. The darkness was closing in on the edges of my vision, pulling me under.
"I’m Ethan Stokes," he said. "I work for your father. You’re safe now."
He scooped me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing.
"You can't take her!" Gabe blocked the doorway, his posture desperate. He looked small, almost fragile, compared to Ethan.
"She’s my wife."
Ethan looked at Gabe. It was a look of pure, clinical pity.
"Mr. Sullivan," Ethan said, his tone flat. "As of two minutes ago, your IPO has been suspended by the SEC. Your assets are frozen. And your mother is about to be arrested for kidnapping."
Gabe’s face went sheet white.
Ethan walked past him, carrying me down the grand staircase. The house was swarming with men in black. In the center of the foyer stood a man I had only seen in old photographs.
He was older now, his hair silver, but his posture was forged from steel. Anthony Dean. The head of the Dean family. The man the East Coast feared.
He looked up as Ethan carried me down. His hard face cracked. He saw the bruises on my arms. He saw the terror lingering in my eyes.
"Is she hurt?" Anthony asked. His voice was low thunder, vibrating in the air.
"She’s weak, sir. Sedated," Ethan replied.
Anthony walked over. He placed a large, warm hand on my cheek, grounding me.
"I’m here, Charlotte," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I’m sorry I was late."
"Are you... really him?" I asked, my eyelids heavy as lead.
"I am," he said, his gaze darkening as he looked past me at the destruction. "And I promise you, they will burn for this."
