Chapter 15 - The Child Who Would Not Be Taken
Ellie stood beneath the foyer chandelier, holding a brass fireplace poker with both hands.
A masked man was sprawled on the marble ten feet away, clutching his shin.
Clare reached her first.
"Baby!"
Ellie burst into tears.
Vincent's guards pinned the intruder.
He was one of the estate electricians - a contractor who had serviced the security system for years.
In his pocket they found zip ties, a sedative patch, and a burner phone.
Dominic felt something savage rise in him.
He forced it down.
"Take him alive," he told Vincent. "I want answers, not revenge."
The electrician's name was Paul Danner.
"Why her?" Clare demanded.
Danner stared at the floor.
"Because Mr. Vale listens when she's involved."
Dominic hated that Marcus was right.
Then Danner revealed the final location.
An unfinished underground loading hub beneath a Vale-owned building near Lower Wacker.
Black Harbor's city staging site.
Angela's son and Nathan's daughter were being held there.
Marcus planned to force Dominic into signing emergency transfer documents on camera, making it look voluntary.
"And if I refused?" Dominic asked.
Danner would not look at him.
Dominic did not need the answer.
Detective Chen prepared the operation.
This time, nobody outside a six-person team heard the location.
Dominic insisted on going.
Chen said no.
"He wants me," Dominic said. "If I stay away, he moves them again."
"You're injured."
Dominic glanced at his brace.
Then at Ellie.
She walked over and touched the lowest strap.
"It's right now," she said.
For the first time that night, Dominic smiled.
"Yes. It is."
He turned to Chen.
"Use me as the reason he stays in the room."
At 6:10 p.m., Dominic entered the underground hub carrying Caleb Rowan's ledger.
Marcus stepped from the shadows.
Behind him sat two terrified hostages.
May you like
And beside Marcus stood Arthur Voss.
Arthur was supposed to be in police custody.
