Chapter 2: The Extraction
Chapter 2: The Extraction
"Whitmore?" Adrian repeated, the syllables stumbling out of his mouth as if they were made of glass. "Victor Whitmore? Of Whitmore Capital?"
His mind was desperately trying to calculate the odds, trying to find the lie. Whitmore Capital owned the very ground his skyscrapers were built on. They were the silent backers of his massive expansion loans.
"Get her coat," my father instructed one of his men. Two guards flanked me instantly, creating an impenetrable wall of muscle and Kevlar between me and my husband.
Margaret scrambled down the stairs, her lazy arrogance entirely gone. "Now, hold on just a minute!" she stammered, her eyes darting between me and the titan of finance standing in her hallway. "There must be some misunderstanding. Elena is... she’s unwell. The pregnancy hormones. She’s prone to delusions. We were just trying to calm her down."
"Save your breath, Margaret," I said, stepping securely into the heavy wool coat a guard held for me. "I know about the locked black folder in the study. I know about the forged medical records. And I know about the clinic."
Adrian lunged forward, a desperate animal realizing the trap had sprung. "Elena, you can't leave! You’re my wife! You’re carrying my heir!"
Before he could take a second step, my father’s head of security pressed a heavy hand flat against Adrian’s chest, stopping him dead.
Victor finally turned his gaze to my husband. It was like watching a lion look at a mouse.
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"You will not speak to my daughter. You will not look at my daughter," my father said, his voice a low, lethal rumble. "For two years, you thought you owned a nobody. You thought you could break her in the dark. Tomorrow morning, Adrian, you will wake up and realize you are the one with absolutely nothing."
My father placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and guided me out the door. The freezing Chicago air hit my face, but for the first time in years, I felt warm. Behind me, the massive crystal chandelier in the Gold Coast mansion flickered, casting long, terrified shadows over the Cross family.
