Chapter 5 - The Hostage of Fifth Avenue
"Put her down, Julian," Alexander hissed, raising his handgun and aiming it directly at his uncle’s forehead.
Julian didn't even flinch. He slowly raised his hand, pointing a heavy silenced revolver directly at Rose’s temple.
"Drop the weapon, nephew," Julian said softly. "Or your mother dies right here on your expensive Italian rug. Again."
Alexander hesitated, his hand shaking with rage. The two tactical guards pressed Rose harder against the bookcase. She looked at Alexander, her eyes pleading with him not to surrender, shaking her head frantically against the gag.
"Dad!" Brooklyn’s small voice echoed from the hallway as she ran into the room. "Leave my grandma alone!"
"Brooklyn, no! Get back!" Alexander roared.
One of the tactical guards moved with terrifying speed, grabbing Brooklyn by her arm and hoisting her off her feet, leveling a weapon at her chest.
"Now," Julian said, his eyes gleaming with malicious triumph. "Drop your gun, Leo. Unless you want to watch both your mother and your daughter bleed out in front of you."
Alexander felt a cold, terrible weight settle into his stomach. He slowly lowered his gun and dropped it onto the floor, kicking it away with his boot.
"Smart boy," Julian smirked. "Just like your father. Too sentimental for your own good. That was always Richard’s flaw. He thought family meant something. Family is nothing more than an anchor that drags ambitious men down into the mud."
"What do you want, Julian?" Alexander growled, his hands raised. "Money? Power? Take it all. Let them go."
Julian let out a dry, rattling laugh. "Oh, Leo. I already have billions. What I want is what your mother stole from me thirty years ago—my peace of mind. As long as she lives, as long as you live, my empire is built on sand."
He gestured to his men. "Bind their hands. We’re taking them to the harbor. It’s time for the Miller family to suffer another unfortunate nautical accident."
"Boss!"
Suddenly, the library door burst open. Marcus, bleeding from a deep wound on his forehead but holding a heavy shotgun, fired two deafening shots into the room.
The heavy lead slugs slammed into the tactical guard holding Brooklyn, blowing him backward into the wall. Brooklyn dropped to the floor, rolling beneath the mahogany desk.
"Run!" Marcus screamed, firing again at the second guard.
Chaos erupted in the pitch-black room, lit only by the muzzle flashes of gunfire.
Alexander dove forward, tackling Julian to the floor. The two men crashed into a tea table, shattering porcelain and wood. Julian snarled, slashing his silver-handled cane across Alexander’s face, catching him along the cheekbone.
Alexander ignored the blinding pain, punching Julian hard in the jaw. But Julian pulled a concealed hunting knife from his coat, slashing wildly. Alexander ducked, grabbing Julian’s wrist, twisting it until the blade clattered onto the floor.
Across the room, Rose managed to break free from the disoriented second guard. Showing an incredible surge of maternal fury, she grabbed a heavy brass floor lamp and slammed it with all her strength against the guard’s head, knocking him unconscious.
"Brooklyn! Rose! To the private stairs! Now!" Alexander roared, wrestling Julian onto the floor, holding him in a chokehold.
"I’ll kill you all!" Julian choked out, his eyes bulging as he fought against Alexander’s grip. "You hear me, Leo? You’ll never be safe!"
"Marcus!" Alexander yelled. "Get them out!"
Marcus grabbed Brooklyn and Rose, ushering them out the emergency fire exit stairwell.
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Just as Alexander prepared to snap Julian’s neck to end the nightmare once and for all, the third tactical guard recovered, raising a heavy stun baton and slamming it viciously into the back of Alexander’s neck.
A blinding burst of white light exploded behind Alexander’s eyes. Darkness swallowed him whole as he collapsed onto the broken glass.
