Chapter 1 - THE RACE AGAINST DEATH
Julian’s blood ran colder than ice.
He stared at the cracked screen of the burner phone.
The live feed showed the monster he called a brother standing over his wife.
Marcus held a syringe filled with an unknown, deadly liquid.
“Trace this feed right now!” Julian roared at his lead security officer, Vance.
Vance snatched the phone, his fingers flying across his specialized tablet.
“It’s bouncing off encrypted servers, sir, but I’m narrowing down the IP address.”
Julian paced the floor like a caged tiger.
Every second that ticked by felt like a physical blow to his chest.
Clara stood by the mahogany desk, her small hands trembling.
Julian dropped to one knee and pulled his daughter into a desperate embrace.
“I will not let him hurt her,” Julian whispered into her hair.
“I promise you, Clara, I am bringing your mother home tonight.”
Clara buried her face in his shoulder, her tiny body shaking with quiet sobs.
Vance’s tablet let out a sharp, digital beep.
“Got it, Mr. Sterling!” Vance shouted.
“It’s a defunct psychiatric facility on the edge of the Blackwood city limits.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed with lethal determination.
“That’s forty miles away,” Julian said, his voice deadly calm.
“Have the helicopter on the south lawn in two minutes.”
“Yes, sir!” Vance replied, already barking orders into his radio.
Julian turned his cold gaze back to Martha, who was still pinned to the floor by the guards.
“Lock her in the basement,” Julian commanded.
“If my wife dies tonight, I will make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life in a cell.”
Martha wept openly, but Julian felt no pity.
He grabbed his tactical coat from the coat rack and checked the loaded firearm he kept in his desk safe.
He had never fired a weapon at a human being before.
But tonight, Marcus was no longer human to him.
He was a rabid dog that needed to be put down.
Julian kissed Clara’s forehead one last time and handed her to his most trusted bodyguard.
“Guard her with your life,” Julian ordered.
The roar of the helicopter blades began to shake the mansion’s windows.
Julian sprinted out into the stormy night.
The rain whipped against his face, but he didn't feel the cold.
All he felt was the burning fire of a husband who had been robbed of six years of his life.
He climbed into the chopper, strapping in as Vance took the seat beside him.
“Get us there,” Julian told the pilot.
“Even if you have to burn out the engines.”
The helicopter lifted off the ground, tearing through the stormy sky.
On the tablet screen, the live feed continued to play.
May you like
Marcus was talking to Eleanor, his lips moving in a sinister monologue.
Julian prayed he would make it in time.
