Chapter 10 - The Rescue of Nanny Sarah
Ten minutes later, a convoy of three black tactical SUVs tore through the streets of San Francisco, sirens screeching as they cut through morning traffic toward the Mission District. Vanessa’s information had been the missing puzzle piece Julian needed. While David’s secondary team secured the perimeter of the art gallery, Julian and four heavy-armed operatives approached the rear service alley.
The gallery was closed to the public, its heavy steel security shutters rolled down over the front windows. David planted a small hydraulic breaching charge against the reinforced steel back door. With a sharp, muffled crack, the lock gave way, and the security team flooded into the dark corridors of the building, weapons raised and flashlights cutting through the gloom.
“Clear!” a guard shouted as they swept the first-floor storage area, where priceless contemporary sculptures sat wrapped in bubble wrap.
Julian followed David down a narrow concrete staircase leading to the climate-controlled subterranean vault where Victoria kept her private collection. Standing outside the heavy vault door were two men in suits—mercenaries hired by Marcus’s gambling contacts.
The moment the mercenaries saw David’s tactical lights, they reached for their weapons, but David’s team moved with brutal efficiency. Two non-lethal flash-bang grenades rolled across the floor, erupting in blinding flashes of light and deafening reports. Before the smoke could even clear, David and his men had tackled both guards to the concrete floor, stripping them of their firearms and zip-tying their wrists.
Julian stepped over the groaning guards and grabbed the spinning combination handle of the vault door, which had been left unlocked by the arrogant guards. He wrenched it open and pulled the heavy steel door aside.
Inside the freezing, dimly lit concrete vault, tied to a metal chair beneath a single flickering bulb, was Sarah Jenkins. Her face was bruised, her lip was split and bleeding, and her clothes were torn, but her chin was held high with defiant dignity.
“Sarah!” Julian rushed into the room, pulling his tactical knife from his belt to slice through the heavy nylon ropes binding her wrists and ankles.
Sarah slumped forward as the ropes gave way, but Julian caught her gently, supporting her weight against his shoulder. She looked up at him through a swollen eye, a weak, relieved smile touching her lips as she recognized the man Clara had loved so fiercely.
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“Mr. Sterling,” she whispered hoarsely, her throat dry and raspy. “The girls... Aurora... Stella... did they make it to the lake house?”
“They’re safe, Sarah,” Julian said, his voice breaking with deep emotion as he wrapped his coat around her shivering shoulders. “They are safe with my team. You saved my children, Sarah. You saved my family.”
