Chapter 9 - CHECKMATE
The distraction was all Claire needed. As the gunmen spun toward Nathaniel's shouting, Claire lunged. She didn't go for the skillet; she grabbed the boiling carafe of coffee from the counter and hurled it directly into the face of the nearest intruder.
The man shrieked in agony, dropping his gun.
Nathaniel tackled the second man to the marble floor. A brutal struggle ensued. The intruder threw a vicious punch, splitting Nathaniel’s lip, but Nathaniel drove his knee into the man's ribs, hearing a satisfying crack. He grabbed the dropped weapon and leveled it at both men as they writhed on the floor.
"Don't move," Nathaniel growled, breathless, blood dripping from his chin.
The penthouse doors blew open again, this time swarming with tactical police units and Nathaniel’s head of security, Marcus, leading the charge.
"Secure them!" Marcus yelled.
Claire collapsed against the kitchen island, pulling a crying Sophie into her arms. Nathaniel dropped the gun and rushed to them, wrapping his arms around both mother and daughter, holding them impossibly tight.
"Are you hurt? Claire, are you okay?" he demanded, his hands framing her face.
"We're okay," she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "We're okay."
Ten miles away, in the corner office of Sterling Development, Richard Vance pressed the final 'DELETE' key. A message popped up on his screen.
TRANSFER DENIED. CONNECTION TRACED. FBI CYBER DIVISION SECURING SECTOR.
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The glass doors of the executive suite shattered inward as federal agents swarmed the room. Vance fell back in his chair, his face entirely drained of blood. It was over.
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