Chapter 5 - The Hit.The rain lashed against the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse apartment.
It had been twelve hours since I forcefully evicted Andrew from his own company.
I poured myself a glass of expensive bourbon, relishing the quiet solitude.
But the silence was merely the calm before a violent storm.
Downstairs, the security cameras surrounding my building were suddenly blinded by static.
Victor burst into my living room, holding a suppressed submachine gun.
"We have a perimeter breach, Ms. Escalante," Victor yelled over the sound of thunder.
"A professional strike team just neutralized our lobby guards," he reported grimly.
I set my glass down, my heart pounding in my chest.
Andrew had actually gone to the criminal underworld to save his stolen pride.
"How many of them are there?" I asked, pulling a sleek pistol from my desk drawer.
"At least eight heavily armed mercenaries," Victor replied, checking his ammunition.
"They are coming up the freight elevator right now."
I racked the slide of my pistol, feeling the cold steel ground my nerves.
My father had trained me for corporate espionage, but he had also trained me for war.
The heavy steel doors of the penthouse elevator suddenly exploded inward.
Smoke and dust filled the hallway, masking the figures moving in the shadows.
Victor opened fire, the suppressed bursts echoing sharply through the luxury apartment.
Glass shattered as return fire tore through my expensive artwork and furniture.
I ducked behind a massive marble kitchen island, gripping my weapon tightly.
Two men in black tactical gear flanked the kitchen, advancing slowly.
I took a deep breath, visualizing the layout of my own home.
I popped up from cover and fired three rapid shots.
The first mercenary dropped to the floor, clutching his chest.
The second man swung his rifle toward me, but Victor took him down from across the room.
The remaining mercenaries retreated to the hallway, regrouping for a second push.
"They are trying to pin us down until reinforcements arrive!" Victor shouted.
My phone rang in my pocket, completely ignoring the chaos around me.
I answered it, putting it on speakerphone as bullets chipped the marble above my head.
"Are you enjoying the fireworks, darling?" Andrew's arrogant voice echoed from the device.
He sounded completely unhinged, high on the thrill of violence.
"You really think a few hired guns can kill an Escalante?" I mocked him over the gunfire.
"I don't need to kill you, Mariana," Andrew laughed maniacally.
"I just need them to distract you while I empty your precious offshore vaults."
My eyes widened in sudden realization.
The hit wasn't just an assassination attempt.
It was a diversion for the biggest digital heist in corporate history.
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"You have no idea what you just unleashed, Andrew," I promised into the phone.
The line went dead, leaving me in the crossfire.
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