Chapter 5 - Interrogation in the Shadows
Deep beneath the industrial docks of Brooklyn, the air smelled of stagnant river water, rusted iron, and raw fear.
Lucas Thorne was strapped to a heavy steel chair in the center of an abandoned shipping warehouse. A single overhead industrial lamp illuminated his bloodied face. His designer suit was torn, his wrists raw against the zip-ties securing him.
Julian Montgomery stood six feet away, his coat draped over a wooden crate, his sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms scarred from a violent youth he rarely discussed in high society. In his right hand, he held Lucas’s unlocked cell phone, scrolling through encrypted messaging channels with a cold, terrifying detachment.
"Please," Lucas gasped, coughing up a line of dark blood. "I didn't know she was your wife, Montgomery! I swear to God! Sterling just told me to attend the gala, initiate verbal contact, and drop a GPS tracking micro-dot into her purse!"
Julian stopped scrolling. He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes entirely devoid of human empathy. The silence in the warehouse became so absolute that the sound of water dripping from a leaking pipe echoed like gunshots.
"You put a tracking device on my wife?" Julian whispered, his voice dangerously soft.
"I tried!" Lucas screamed, straining against the plastic ties. "But when you pulled her away toward the valet garage, she dropped her clutch! The dot didn't stick! Sterling was furious! He’s been running regional facial recognition sweeps through every transit hub on the East Coast for two weeks trying to find her before you do!"
Julian walked forward with agonizing slowness. He stopped right in front of Lucas, leaning down until their faces were inches apart. The sheer, overwhelming aura of lethal violence radiating from Julian made the younger man sob in terror.
"Where is Alexander Sterling’s primary hunting team right now?" Julian asked, every syllable clipped and freezing.
"I don't know the exact coordinates!" Lucas cried out. "I just saw an alert on the internal dispatch channel three hours ago! One of their digital sweepers got a hit on a facial recognition algorithm from a ATM security camera in a fishing town in Maine! A place called Camden! They sent a four-man hit squad north this morning!"
Julian’s heart stopped. The world around him narrowed down to a single, agonizing reality.
Clara was in Maine. She was unprotected, living in a quiet coastal town, entirely unaware that four armed assassins were descending upon her to use her as a hostage against him.
Julian turned on his heel, striding toward the warehouse exit where Gabriel and six heavily armed tactical operatives were waiting in full combat gear.
"Leave him for the local police," Julian ordered Gabriel without looking back at Lucas. "Have the flight crew prep the private jet at Teterboro immediately. Get me a helicopter waiting at the Portland airfield to take us directly into Camden harbor. We have less than three hours before Sterling’s men reach her."
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"Yes, sir," Gabriel said, cocking his assault rifle. "We will get her back, Mr. Montgomery."
"If we are too late," Julian said, his voice cracking with a profound, terrifying grief he could no longer conceal, "there won't be a world left to get her back to."
