Chapter 5 - The Ambush at the Door
Asher walked into the grand private elevator foyer of his penthouse, his face carved from dark, unyielding granite.
He had instructed Mrs. Gable to keep the girls inside the master bedroom with the doors locked. Standing beside Asher in the foyer were Vance and three of his top security men, all dressed in dark suits, their posture rigid and imposing.
The private elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
Stepping into the private foyer were three people: a stern-looking woman in a brown corporate suit holding a thick leather accordion folder, two uniformed Chicago police officers with their hands resting casually near their belts, and standing right behind them, wearing a tailored navy suit and an arrogant, triumphant smirk, was Julian Vance.
"Asher," Julian sneered, stepping out of the elevator cabin as if he owned the floor. "I told you that you couldn't keep what isn't yours."
Asher didn't even acknowledge the billionaire. He fixed his gaze on the woman with the folder. "Who are you?"
"I am Brenda Vance—no relation to Mr. Vance here," the woman said in a sharp, bureaucratic tone, pulling a official court document from her folder. "I am a senior supervisor with Cook County Child Protective Services. We have an emergency protective custody order issued by Judge Miller ordering the immediate surrender of the minors, Lily and Maya Vance, to state custody pending a guardianship hearing."
"That order is invalid," Asher said flatly, not moving an inch.
"It is a signed judicial warrant, Mr. Hale!" the caseworker insisted, stepping forward. "You have no legal relation to these children. You picked them up off the street and brought them to your private residence without reporting it to law enforcement. That constitutes unlawful detention of minors!"
"They were abandoned in a sub-zero parking lot for five hours while their mother was dying in an ICU after being struck by a hit-and-run driver," Asher fired back, his voice echoing off the marble walls like a thunderclap. "Where was your agency five days ago when they were starving in a shopping cart?!"
The caseworker flinched at his tone, but hardened her expression. "That is irrelevant to current legal procedure, sir. Officers, enforce the warrant."
The two police officers took a step forward, looking thoroughly uncomfortable with the situation, but duty-bound to follow the court order.
"I wouldn't take another step if I were you, officers," Vance warned smoothly, stepping in front of Asher, his jacket shifting slightly to reveal his tactical holsters. "My team is authorized to use full defensive force on private residential property."
"Are you threatening police officers, Mr. Hale?!" the caseworker gasped in disbelief.
"No," Asher said, taking a slow, deliberate step forward, pushing Vance aside so he stood face-to-face with the officers and Julian. "I am telling you that before you lay a single finger on those door handles, my head of legal will have Judge Miller brought before the Judicial Inquiry Board for issuing an emergency ex-parte order without verifying the conflict of interest of the petitioner."
Asher turned his lethal gaze directly onto Julian Vance.
"Did you tell the judge that you are the primary suspect in an ongoing criminal hit-and-run investigation involving the children's mother, Julian?" Asher asked softly.
Julian’s arrogant smirk instantly vanished. His eyes widened slightly. "What rubbish are you talking about?"
Asher pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed a button, and turned the screen toward the police officers.
On the screen was high-definition 4K video footage showing the black Mercedes S-Class hitting Clara Vance at the intersection, zooming in on the license plate, and then switching to a secondary feed showing Julian Vance’s personal driver stepping out of that exact vehicle in the private underground garage of Vanguard Holdings twenty minutes after the accident.
The two police officers looked at the screen, then slowly turned their heads to glare at Julian Vance.
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"Where did you get that?" Julian whispered, his face turning pale as paper.
"I bought the security company that owns the traffic cameras three hours ago, Julian," Asher said with a cold, terrifying smile. "Officer, if you want to make an arrest today, I suggest you cuff the man standing behind you for attempted murder and obstruction of justice."
