Chapter 16 - The Confrontation
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The estate was completely silent. The exterior lights had been killed, plunging the sprawling property into deep shadows. I sat behind my mahogany desk in the dark office, watching the live feeds from the security cameras on a tablet.
At exactly 3:15 AM, a black luxury sedan rolled slowly down the street, stopping just outside the main gates.
Three figures emerged from the vehicle. One of them was Chloe, shivering in a designer trench coat. The other two were massive, heavily armed men wearing dark suits—Volkov's enforcers.
They bypassed the front gate, slipping through the exact same blind spot in the hedge maze the first intruder had used. They crept silently across the lawn, approaching the French doors of my office.
Chloe used a key she had secretly kept to unlock the patio door. She pushed it open, stepping into the dark office.
"Did you get it open?" Chloe hissed into the darkness, expecting to find the intruder.
I reached over and flicked on the brass desk lamp.
The sudden burst of light blinded them momentarily. Chloe shrieked, jumping backward, while the two Russian enforcers instantly raised their suppressed pistols, aiming them directly at my chest.
I didn't flinch. I remained seated behind my desk, my hands resting casually on the polished wood.
"Hello, Chloe," I said smoothly. "You have terrible timing."
"Alexander!" she gasped, her face draining of color. She looked around the empty room frantically. "Where is... where is the guy who called me?"
"He is currently handcuffed in the trunk of a police cruiser," I replied. "And you are currently trespassing on my property with armed associates. A situation that California law views very unfavorably."
The lead Russian enforcer sneered, stepping forward, his gun pointed at my head. "We don't care about the law, Vance. Open the safe and give us the three million she owes, or I paint your expensive walls with your brains."
I let out a slow, deliberate sigh. "I always find it amusing when men walk into a fortress and assume they are the ones holding the castle."
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I raised my right hand and snapped my fingers.
Instantly, the heavy oak doors of the office burst open. Blinding tactical lights flooded the room from all angles.
