Chapter 3
The limousine violently swerved into a desolate underground parking garage, tires screeching against the concrete. Sarah’s heart pounded against her ribs. She had survived the streets before Richard; she wasn't going to die in a billionaire's custom cage.
Using the heavy heel of her designer stiletto, Sarah smashed the partition glass, blinding the driver temporarily. "Run, Elena!" she screamed, kicking the locked door until the safety mechanism gave way.
The three of them tumbled out into the damp, freezing garage. Footsteps echoed from the shadows—Richard’s fixers were already here. Sarah grabbed a heavy metal pipe from a nearby construction pile, her polished exterior vanishing, replaced by the street-smart survivor she used to be.
They fought their way to a service elevator, but as the doors began to close, a massive hand shot through the gap. Two men dragged Elena backward by her hair.
"Mom!" Leo screamed, lunging forward.
"Take him, Sarah! Keep the bracelet safe!" Elena shrieked as the men pulled her into the darkness. "Don't let Richard get the vault!"
The elevator doors slammed shut, leaving Sarah alone with the sobbing child. She had lost her sister again, but this time, she knew exactly who the enemy was. She looked down at little Leo, wiping the grime and tears from his face.
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"We are going to get her back," Sarah promised, her voice dripping with lethal determination. "But first, we’re going to burn his world to the ground."
Sarah didn't run to the police—Richard owned them. Instead, she took Leo to the darkest corners of the city, calling in a favor from a ghost in her past: a legendary underground hacker named Silas. It was time to break into the Sterling Empire's mainframe. If Richard wanted a war for the gold, she was going to give him one.
