Chapter 2 - Ambush on the Wet Pavement
The sudden flare of headlights turned the rain into sheets of falling silver. Catherine instinctively turned her back, shielding the baby with her entire body as doors slammed open on both vehicles. Four men in dark tactical windbreakers stepped onto the pavement, their movements practiced, cold, and coordinated.
""Catherine Evans,"" the lead man barked, stepping through the rain with his hand buried beneath his jacket. ""Step away from Mr. Vance. You are in possession of property that does not belong to you.""
Julian stepped smoothly between Catherine and the advancing men, his towering frame cutting off their line of sight. His briefcase dropped onto the wet stone with a dull thud. ""Identify yourselves before I have the precinct commander strip your badges,"" he commanded, his baritone voice slicing through the noise of the idling engines.
The lead operative didn't flinch. Instead, he withdrew a laminated clearance card displaying the private security insignia of Vance Holdings. ""Mr. Vance, we take our orders directly from Madame Eleanor Vance. She instructed us to retrieve the child and ensure this woman is escorted across state borders immediately. Please step aside, sir. Family business.""
A venomous chill washed over Julian. His mother had organized an extraction team for an infant he had only discovered thirty seconds ago. Catherine gripped the back of his suit jacket with white-knuckled fingers, her whole body shaking violently. ""Julian, she threatened to put him in an unregistered ward. She told me I would never see him again!""
""Stand down,"" Julian ordered, taking half a step toward the men, his fists clenched tight. ""Touch either of them, and I will dismantle your entire firm before morning.""
The lead man hesitated, glancing back at the trailing sedan where a rear tinted window began to roll down. Through the narrow opening, the silhouette of Eleanor Vance was unmistakable—silver-haired, regal, and holding a phone to her ear. She made no gesture to stop them.
""Apprehend the woman,"" the operative commanded, lunging forward.
Julian moved with blinding speed. He caught the lead man's wrist, twisting it sharply to the side while driving his elbow into the operative's sternum. The man gasped, stumbling back onto the slick road. But the other three closed in immediately. Julian grabbed Catherine's trembling arm with his free hand, pulling her toward the tower’s revolving glass doors. ""Inside! Run!""
They burst into the warmth of the marble lobby just as the night guard scrambled from his station. Julian slammed his palm against the emergency console, locking down the exterior perimeter. The heavy security glass resonated with the thud of the pursuers throwing themselves against it.
May you like
Safe for a fleeting moment, Julian turned around. He looked at Catherine's drenched, shivering frame, and then down at the baby who had begun to wail in terror.
Julian’s phone buzzed sharply in his inner pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. A text from his mother read: He is not your son, Julian. Run the test, or lose everything.
