Chapter 5 - Secrets Unraveled
Outside the study door, footsteps approached. A heavy boot kicked the door, but the reinforced steel frame held.
"Mrs. Harrington," a muffled, gravelly voice called out from the hallway. "We know the billionaire came home early. We know he’s in there. Hand over the asset and the signed logistics contract on the desk, or we burn this place to the ground with your children inside."
Nathan glanced at the security monitors. Two men were heading upstairs toward the master bedroom—where Leo and Maya were hidden.
Panic surged through him, but Nathan forced it down. He looked at Victoria. "The contract. What contract?"
Victoria looked away, guilt finally washing over her. "I... I forged your signature on a letter of intent to transfer ownership of Apex’s shipping hubs. They brought the final paperwork tonight. I was going to slip it into your briefcase tomorrow morning."
Nathan realized the terrifying truth: Victoria hadn't just been hiding a secret; she had actively engineered the hostile takeover of his life's work to cover up her own horrific past crimes.
"You betrayed me. You betrayed our family," Nathan said, the betrayal cutting deeper than the threat outside the door.
"I did it to keep us alive!" she screamed.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted from the upper floor. Arthur had opened fire with his own weapon. A loud groan, followed by a heavy body hitting the floor, echoed through the intercom system.
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"Arthur!" Nathan shouted.
He knew he couldn't wait ten minutes for the extraction team. He had to act now.
