Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Night
The silence of the warehouse was broken at three in the morning by a sharp, rhythmic tapping on the outer security door. Marcus immediately went to the monitors, his face tightening as he looked at the high-definition feed.
"Ryan, we have a problem," Marcus called out quietly.
I hurried down the metal stairs, leaving Emily with the sleeping children. On the screen, two men in tailored black suits were standing at the gate. One of them held a handheld scanner, running it along the biometric lock interface. They weren't police; they were Eleanor’s personal "fixers"—men who handled the dirty work for the corporate board.
"They tracked the truck’s GPS," I muttered, cursing my own stupidity. Even though I had turned off my phone, the truck’s internal navigation system was still active and tied to the company network.
"They can't get through the iron door without explosives," Marcus said, drawing a legal firearm from beneath the desk. "But they know you're here. If they call Eleanor, she’ll have a team of corporate lawyers and corrupt police officers here with a fraudulent warrant by sunrise."
I took a deep breath. I needed to buy time for Julian to secure the backup drive from Arthur. I couldn't let them trap us here.
"Marcus, is the rear alley exit clear?" I asked.
"Yeah, it leads out to the old rail yard. It's completely dark, no cameras," Marcus replied.
"Good. Give me your spare car key. The old sedan you keep in the back stall."
I rushed back up to the loft and gently woke Emily. "We have to move. Now."
Within three minutes, we were loading the sleepy, confused twins into the backseat of Marcus's battered, unnoticeable 2012 sedan. Emily held Maya tightly, while Leo gripped my index finger with his tiny hand, refusing to let go.
As Marcus opened the rear shutter just wide enough for the sedan to slip through, I looked back at him. "If they ask, you haven't seen me in months."
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"Go, Ryan," Marcus said, slapping the side of the car. "Bring her down."
We slipped into the darkness of the Denver night, navigating through backstreets and industrial alleyways. Through the rearview mirror, I saw the lights of three more black vehicles arriving at the front of Marcus's warehouse. Eleanor was growing desperate. She knew that if I discovered the truth, her control over me—and her access to the next generation of the Vance fortune—was completely finished.
