Chapter 6 - The Trap of Mrs. Park
Mrs. Park was not a woman who surrendered. When Ethan returned to the family estate at three in the morning and told her about Daniel Seo’s terms, she didn't cry. She didn't panic. Her face twisted into something monstrous, her eyes wide with a manic, desperate rage.
"He thinks he can exile us?" she whispered, her fingers tearing at the silk sheets of her bed. "He thinks a street thug from Queens can throw the Park family out of Manhattan? No. He has a weakness, Ethan. He brought her to the gala. He loves her."
"Mother, stop," Ethan begged, buried in a chair with his head in his hands. "We lost. Daniel Seo controls the unions. He has Hale. Just let me sign the papers and take the money we have left."
"Shut up, you coward!" she screamed, slapping him across the face with explosive force. "I didn't spend thirty years building your father’s legacy just to let a broke girl from the museum walk away with it! If Daniel Seo wants his little prize, he can pay for her."
The next afternoon, Grace was walking out of the New York Historical Society after a successful consulting meeting. The air was crisp, and for the first time in weeks, she felt like her old self. The media attacks had dried up, her reputation was restored, and she was doing the work she loved.
As she reached the sidewalk, a white delivery van pulled up abruptly to the curb.
Before she could react, the side door slid open. Two men in masks grabbed her arms, pulling her into the dark interior of the vehicle with brutal speed. Grace opened her mouth to scream, but a cloth soaked in a sweet, chemical substance was pressed firmly over her face.
The world went black.
When she woke up, her head was throbbing with a violent, nauseating pain. She was tied to a heavy wooden chair in an abandoned, dusty office space. Massive industrial windows showed a view of the shipping containers near the Newark docks.
Standing in front of her, looking completely unhinged, was Mrs. Park.
The older woman was holding a heavy silver revolver, her hair disheveled, her expensive coat stained with dust. Behind her stood two hired thugs in heavy leather jackets.
"You miserable little stray," Mrs. Park spat, walking over and striking Grace across the face with the barrel of the gun.
Grace gasped, blood trickling from her lip, but she refused to cry. She looked up, her dark eyes flashing with a sudden, deep strength she didn't know she possessed. "You're insane, Mrs. Park. If Daniel finds out you did this—"
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"Daniel Seo is already on his way," Mrs. Park laughed hysterically, waving the gun in the air. "I called his private line myself. I told him if he doesn't transfer the Crimson Crest assets to my offshore account and sign a waiver for the tax audits by five o'clock, I will put a bullet through your pretty face and dump you in the river."
She leaned down, her face inches from Grace’s. "You thought you were a queen? You're just bait, Grace. And once your little protector signs the papers, I will kill you both anyway."
