Chapter 1 - THE BROKEN LOCK|
The sudden darkness slammed into the penthouse like a physical blow.
Outside, the glittering skyline of Manhattan continued to glow through the floor-to-ceiling glass, but inside the sprawling dining suite, every interior light vanished.
Then came the sharp, metallic click of a bypass lock coming from the private service elevator in the foyer.
"Stay down," Dominic growled. His voice was no longer that of a defeated billionaire—it was the low, dangerous rumble of a predator backed into a corner.
Nora didn't hesitate. She dropped to her knees behind the heavy oak desk, her heart hammer-mashing against her ribs. She was just a maid in a scuffed black uniform, but three years of surviving double shifts in the city's meanest neighborhoods had given her sharp reflexes.
Across the room, Dominic moved without a sound. He didn't rush toward the door; he slid his right hand beneath the edge of his mahogany desk, releasing a concealed magnetic latch.
A matte-black semi-automatic pistol slid into his palm.
"How many?" Dominic murmured into the gloom.
"Three on the burner thread," Nora whispered, her breath hitching in her throat. "Chloe told them the main security grid was down for maintenance tonight."
"She didn't just tell them," Dominic muttered, his eyes tracking the red laser dot that suddenly danced across the suede wall near the foyer entrance. "She turned off the secondary relays herself."
The double doors swung open with a soft groan.
Two heavy figures in tactical gear stepped into the room, their suppressed weapons raised. Their night-vision goggles cast a ghostly green glow over their faces.
"Russo!" one of the hitmen called out, his voice muffled by a balaclava. "Marro sends his regards. Hand over the ledger and we make it quick!"
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Dominic didn't answer with words.
He rose from behind the desk like a shadow, pulling the trigger twice before the hitmen could even swing their barrels toward him.
