Chapter 9 - The Security Lockdown
"If you don't tell me exactly where my wife is right now, I won't just kill you," Ethan whispered lethally, his intense eyes burning with a dark, apocalyptic fire. "I will systematically dismantle every single piece of your life. I will destroy your family, freeze your accounts, and make sure you spend the absolute rest of your miserable existence locked in a concrete box completely forgotten by the world."
Corinne choked, her eyes darting wildly around the room, realizing she had absolutely zero leverage left. Ethan was the billionaire CEO of a massive tech empire. He possessed the infinite resources to completely erase her from the earth.
"It's... it's a private, off-the-grid facility in the northern mountains," Corinne sobbed pathetically, completely breaking under his terrifying grip. "Two hours outside the city. It's heavily guarded by private security. The doctors are all on my payroll. You can't just walk in there, Ethan!"
Ethan didn't say another word. He violently shoved Corinne away from the fireplace, sending her collapsing into a weeping heap on the floor.
He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his secure, encrypted cell phone. He bypassed the local police entirely—if the medical examiner was corrupt, the local authorities might be compromised. He dialed the direct line of his elite, private corporate security detail, comprised entirely of former military operatives.
"Marcus. It's Ethan," he barked into the phone, his voice vibrating with absolute, military-level authority. "I need an immediate, full-scale tactical lockdown of my estate. Send four men to the living room to secure a hostile prisoner. Then, I need two heavily armed tactical SUVs at my front door in exactly three minutes. We have a hostage rescue."
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He hung up the phone and turned his intense gaze back to the terrified toddler still hiding behind the sofa.
👉 What deeply emotional promise will Ethan make to his traumatized daughter before he leaves?
