CHAPTER 3 — The Billionaire in the Shadows
Three buildings away, the rain hit the glass like scattered bullets.
Alexander Cole stood in front of a surveillance wall filled with live feeds from Bennett Logistics. Every corridor. Every entrance. Every locked door.
Including Freezer Unit 3B.
A woman dying inside.
Pregnant.
His jaw tightened.
“Trace the internal override,” he ordered.
A technician hesitated. “Sir… this system is isolated. Only executive access—”
“I don’t care,” Alexander cut in. “Find the backdoor or I’ll build one.”
The room went silent.
Everyone knew who he was.
Not officially.
Not publicly.
But in the underground financial world, Alexander Cole was the man companies called when they wanted problems erased.
And Derek Bennett had made a mistake years ago.
He had stolen from Alexander.
Now he had done something worse.
He had involved a pregnant woman.
Alexander turned to his head of security.
“How long has she been in there?”
“Seven minutes,” the man said.
Alexander exhaled slowly.
“Then she has maybe three left before hypothermia sets in.”
He picked up his coat.
“No negotiations,” he said. “Bring me the building layout.”
Someone swallowed. “And Bennett?”
Alexander paused.
His eyes were unreadable.
May you like
“Make sure he stays alive long enough to regret it.”
Then he walked out.
