Chapter 5 - The Ambush at Dock 14
Midnight at Dock 14 was a graveyard of rusted shipping containers and rot-eaten wooden piers. Rain fell in thick, heavy sheets, drumming against the corrugated steel roofs of the abandoned warehouses.
A single black SUV pulled up into the dark alley between Warehouses 12 and 14.
The driver's door opened, and Emily stepped out into the rain. She wore a dark raincoat, her face pale, her hands trembling inside her pockets. Beneath her raincoat, however, a tiny wireless microphone was taped securely to her collarbone, feeding live audio directly to Daniel and his tactical team stationed three hundred yards away in an unmarked van.
Emily walked through the creaking side door of Warehouse 14.
Inside, a single industrial bulb hung from a high rafter, illuminating a circle of damp concrete. Tied to a wooden chair in the center of the light was Aunt Sarah, her mouth taped shut, her eyes wide with terror.
Standing beside her was Vanessa Vance.
Vanessa no longer wore designer dresses. She wore dark jeans, a black leather jacket, and her makeup was smudged, giving her a hollow, unhinged look. In her right hand, she held a compact black revolver.
"Look who finally showed up," Vanessa sneered, stepping into the light. "The maid who thinks she's a princess."
"Vanessa, please," Emily said, taking a slow step forward, keeping her hands visible. "Let my aunt go. She has nothing to do with this. The trust, the shares... you can have them all! Just don't hurt her!"
Vanessa laughed—a high, manic sound that echoed off the metal walls. "You think this is about money now, Emily? You humiliated me! You destroyed my wedding! My father was kicked off the board today, our assets were frozen, and the press is hunting us like dogs!"
"You did that to yourself!" Emily shouted over the drumming rain. "You planted that necklace! You slapped me in front of fifty people!"
"Because you were taking him from me!" Vanessa screamed, aiming the gun directly at Emily's chest. "Daniel was mine! The Sterling name was mine! And then you walked into the house with your sweet, innocent face and your tragic past, and he couldn't take his eyes off you!"
Behind a stack of wooden crates fifty feet away, Richard Vance stepped out of the shadows, holding a heavy iron crowbar.
"Finish it, Vanessa," Richard ordered coldly. "Make it look like a botched robbery. We take her phone, drop the bodies in the river, and file the emergency injunction tomorrow morning."
"You're too late, Richard," a deep, rumblesome voice echoed from the darkness above.
The industrial spotlight overhead suddenly flashed on, blinding Vanessa and her father.
Before either of them could react, the heavy glass skylights smashed open. Four tactical security officers swung down on ropes, their laser sights painting bright red dots across Richard and Vanessa’s chests.
The heavy steel side doors were kicked off their hinges, and Daniel rushed into the warehouse, flanked by ten armed guards and State Police officers.
"Drop the gun, Vanessa!" Daniel shouted, his weapon drawn and aimed with absolute precision.
Vanessa panicked, swinging her gun toward Daniel.
BANG!
A single sniper shot rang out from the rafters. The bullet struck the gun out of Vanessa’s hand, shattering the weapon and sending her spinning to the concrete, screaming in pain as her hand bled.
Richard dropped the crowbar, throwing his hands into the air as four police officers tackled him to the wet floor, pinning him under heavy boots.
Daniel didn't even look at the fallen Vances. He sprinted straight past them, dropping to his knees beside Emily, who was already untaping Aunt Sarah's mouth and cutting the ropes around her wrists.
"Are you hurt? Either of you?" Daniel asked frantically, his hands checking Emily’s arms and face for any sign of injury.
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"We're okay, Daniel," Emily sobbed, pulling Aunt Sarah into a fierce hug. "We're okay."
As the police hauled Vanessa and Richard out into the rain in handcuffs, Vanessa looked back at Daniel and Emily, weeping uncontrollably. But Daniel didn't give her a second glance. He wrapped his coat around Emily’s shoulders, lifting her up from the cold concrete and holding her tight against his heart.
