"I pretended to fly to Canada after suspecting the housekeeper was doing something terrible to my daughters whenever I was away. Instead, I secretly returned home and turned on the hidden cameras.

The intruder was hauled up and forcefully strapped into a heavy wooden chair in the center of my ruined office. His nose was bleeding from the impact of the takedown, but his eyes were hard and defiant.

Hector stood behind him, his presence alone acting as a silent, terrifying threat.

"Who sent you?" I asked, leaning against the edge of my desk, keeping my voice deceptively calm.

The man spat a glob of blood onto my expensive Persian rug. "Go to hell, rich boy."

Hector didn't hesitate. He grabbed a handful of the man's hair and yanked his head back violently, exposing his throat. "Mr. Vance asked you a question. You are currently trespassing on private property with a lethal weapon. The police are not on their way. You are dealing with us."

The intruder swallowed hard, the bravado cracking slightly.

"Check his pockets," I ordered.

One of the security guards stepped forward and emptied the man's tactical vest. He pulled out a lock-picking kit, a burner phone, and a small, folded piece of paper. He handed the paper to me.

I unfolded it. Written in familiar, elegant handwriting was a series of numbers and a crudely drawn map of my ground floor.

"This is the access code to my private wall safe," I said, staring at the paper in disbelief. I looked up at the intruder. "Chloe gave this to you."

The man sneered, realizing the game was up. "Your crazy ex-fiancée owes my boss a lot of money. When she realized you weren't going to pay her extortion fee, she came to us in a panic. She told Volkov about the safe in your office. She said you kept millions in bearer bonds and untraceable cash inside."

I stared at him, marveling at Chloe's sheer, unadulterated stupidity.

"She promised Volkov that the safe would cover her debts," the intruder laughed darkly. "I was just sent to collect."

I walked over to the oil painting on the far wall, swinging it aside to reveal the heavy steel door of the wall safe. I punched in the code Chloe had provided. The safe hissed open.

I stepped back, allowing the intruder to see inside.