CHAPTER 2 — Five Minutes Until Ruin
The ballroom fell into an uneasy silence.
Only the rain striking the floor-to-ceiling windows broke it.
Evelyn lowered her phone without another word.
Across the room, Adrian smirked.
"So that's your great rescue?"
He stepped closer, wiping a speck of blood from the leather crop with a silk handkerchief.
"You've always been dramatic."
Vanessa laughed softly.
"Maybe Daddy's sending an Uber."
Neither of them noticed the tiny red light inside Evelyn's diamond pendant blink twice before turning dark.
The recording had already been uploaded.
Not to cloud storage.
To Carter Global Security.
Exactly forty-eight encrypted copies.
Exactly as her father had designed.
Three minutes passed.
Then another.
Adrian poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"You know what your biggest mistake was?" he asked.
"You mistook kindness for weakness."
Evelyn slowly looked up.
"No."
"My biggest mistake..."
"...was believing you loved me."
A distant sound interrupted him.
Helicopters.
At first...
One.
Then two.
Then six.
The crystal chandelier trembled slightly.
Vanessa frowned.
"What is that?"
The estate's head butler suddenly burst into the ballroom, his face completely white.
"Mr. Vale..."
"There are... helicopters."
Adrian frowned.
"So?"
"They're landing on the front lawn."
Another servant rushed in.
"Sir..."
"There are over thirty black SUVs entering through the main gate."
Adrian laughed.
"My investors must be early."
Then every light inside the mansion flickered.
The electronic locks disengaged.
The massive front doors opened.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the marble entrance.
Nearly forty security officers in tailored black suits entered with military precision.
Not one looked at Adrian.
Every one of them walked straight toward Evelyn.
The leader removed his gloves.
"Miss Carter."
"We're sorry we arrived four minutes late."
Adrian's smile vanished.
Miss...
Carter?
The guards formed two lines.
Outside...
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly stopped beneath the mansion steps.
The rear door opened.
A silver-haired man stepped into the rain without an umbrella.
Richard Carter.
Founder of Carter International Holdings.
One of the richest men in America.
May you like
The man Adrian had spent years trying—and failing—to schedule a meeting with.
His father-in-law.
