2025-09-29 02:06:28
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Deal?
"The Shadow Council does not meet with desperate men."Marcus stood in the basement of an abandoned textile factory, facing five figures seated behind a table shrouded in darkness. Emma waited in the armored vehicle outside with Derek and Wei, still weak from Lily's sonic attack. Catherine had regained consciousness and was demanding answers nobody had time to give."Then it's fortunate I'm not desperate." Marcus pulled out his tablet, displaying Chen Holdings' complete financial architecture. "I'm making a business proposition."The center figure leaned forward slightly. Marcus caught a glimpse of an older woman, perhaps seventy, with surgical scars visible on her hands. "Business propositions require leverage, Mr. Chen. What leverage does a man about to lose everything possess?""Knowledge of Sarah Voss's operation. Complete access to her financial networks, courtesy of Victor Chen's daughter before she died buying us time." Marcus swiped through files. "Offshore accounts in four
Saving Emma
“Well, watch me pretend to kill her. Details matter."Emma's face went white. "Absolutely not. I'm not—""You're pregnant with a Chen heir. Sarah won't stop until that child is under her control or dead. This is our only chance to make her think she's won, to get you somewhere safe while Marcus and I burn her entire operation to ash."The wall exploded inward. Smoke and debris filled the room. Marcus grabbed Emma and ran left, Elena grabbed Catherine and ran right. Lily stood in the center of the chaos, her phone glowing with unnatural light.Through the smoke, Marcus saw tactical team members pouring through the breach. Saw Lily raising her hands, energy crackling around her fingers. Saw the first mercenary raise his weapon.Then Lily screamed.The sound wasn't human. It resonated at frequencies that shattered every window in the corridor, that made grown men clutch their ears and drop to their knees. Marcus felt his System dampening the effects, but Emma and Catherine weren't protec
Saving Emma
The emergency lights painted everything in shades of blood.Marcus counted twelve footsteps in the corridor outside their hospital room, moving with military precision. Not hospital security. Not Sarah's usual mercenaries. These moved differently, with the disciplined rhythm of people who'd killed before and would kill again.Elena was already at the window, her Redemption System flaring to life as she assessed escape routes. "Third floor. Too high to jump safely, especially with Emma pregnant.""Then we don't jump." Marcus helped Emma to her feet, his shoulder screaming protest from Victor's bullet wound. "Catherine, can you get to the parking garage without being seen?"Catherine Williams straightened her spine, decades of social warfare crystallizing into unexpected courage. "The service elevator connects to the kitchen. I know this hospital. James had his heart attack here two years ago.""Take Emma. Get her somewhere safe.""Absolutely not." Emma yanked her arm from Catherine's
Your move 2
Emma was hyperventilating. "Marcus, we have to do something. Those women, that baby—""I know." Marcus's mind raced. "Elena, get security to all three hospitals. Now. Full protection details.""Already on it." Elena was typing furiously. "But Marcus, if Sarah's been planning this for months, she'll have people inside those hospitals. Guards we think are ours might be hers."Thomas Ashworth called. "Marcus, my daughter, someone just tried to inject her with something. The nurse said it was routine medication but Sarah looked scared. Security stopped it but—""Get her out of there. Now. Take her somewhere Sarah can't find.""Where would that be? You just proved she has eyes everywhere!"Marcus looked at Emma, saw her struggling to breathe through panic. "Emma, I need you to stay calm. For the baby.""Stay calm? That psychopath just threatened to kill our child!""I know. But stress isn't good for—""Don't you dare tell me what's good for me!" Emma's voice rose to a shout. "This is your
Your move
"Your wife is pregnant."The doctor's words hit Marcus harder than Victor's bullet had. He stared at Dr. Shah across the hospital bed where Emma sat pale and trembling, her hand pressed to her stomach."That's impossible," Emma whispered. "We've been careful. I'm on birth control—""Birth control fails sometimes." Dr. Shah consulted her chart. "Based on hormone levels, I'd estimate you're about six weeks along. The stress and adrenaline from today's incident caused some spotting, which is why we ran the tests."Marcus felt his System flooding him with conflicting data—protective instincts warring with fear. A child. His child. Growing inside Emma while someone anonymous threatened to destroy them both."Is the baby okay?" he managed."Perfectly healthy. But Mrs. Chen needs rest, minimal stress, and—" Dr. Shah looked pointedly at Marcus's bandaged shoulder, "—no more gunfights in boardrooms."After the doctor left, silence filled the room like concrete. Emma stared at her hands. Marc
A new enemy
Everyone turned to see Elena Chen walking in, followed by two people Marcus had never seen before—a man and woman in their thirties, both with the unmistakable Chen family features."Sorry we're late," Elena said. "But I'd like to introduce two board members Victor forgot to mention. Chen Wei and Chen Mei, our cousins from Singapore. They hold emergency voting rights activated when a CEO faces removal proceedings."Victor's face went from triumphant to furious in seconds. "That's impossible. Wei and Mei renounced their voting rights years ago—""We renounced them when Victor was in charge," the woman—Chen Mei—said. Her voice was soft but carried steel underneath. "But Elena convinced us Marcus is different. That he deserves a chance.""This is procedural manipulation!" Victor shouted. "I demand—""You demand nothing," Chen Wei interrupted. "We're here. We have votes. And we'd like to hear the full story before making any decisions."Victor's carefully constructed trap was unraveling.
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