Chapter 2 - THE HUSBAND WHO ARRIVED TOO QUICKLY
Marcus Vale did not run toward Victoria.
He walked.
That was how Marcus handled every crisis: never appearing rushed, because rushed men looked guilty.
His charcoal coat was dry beneath an umbrella held by his driver. His polished shoes avoided the deepest puddles.
Daniel remained between him and Victoria.
“She needs an ambulance,” Daniel said.
Marcus looked him over as though evaluating a temporary employee.
“I’ll take care of my wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Victoria corrected.
Marcus’s eyes flickered.
Only once.
Then he smiled.
“She’s confused. She’s had a traumatic evening.”
Victoria tightened Daniel’s jacket around herself.
“How did you find me?”
Marcus ignored the question.
He crouched several feet away, careful not to dirty his clothes.
“Victoria, your board is panicking. Your assistant called me when you vanished.”
“My assistant would never call you.”
“She did tonight.”
Daniel glanced toward Victoria.
“Should I let him approach?”
“No.”
Marcus’s pleasant expression hardened.
“You are making this unnecessarily dramatic.”
Three men had intercepted Victoria outside a private parking garage after a strategy dinner. They knew which exit she would use. They knew her security driver had been reassigned. They knew she carried a confidential access token needed for the board meeting scheduled the next morning.
That token was not in her purse.
It was sewn into the inner lining of her jacket.
The jacket the attackers had failed to take because a delivery truck entered the alley and startled them.
Victoria had believed the robbery was random until Marcus appeared less than twenty minutes later.
“Call the police,” she told Daniel.
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“I strongly advise against that.”
“Why?”
“Because the men who attacked you may still be close.”
“Then police would be useful.”
Marcus stepped nearer.
Daniel shifted his weight.
“Stop there.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You have no idea who you’re interfering with.”
Daniel did not move.
“I know an injured woman told you not to come closer.”
Sofia stood behind her father, clutching the red umbrella with both hands. Her eyes moved nervously between the adults.
Distant sirens grew louder.
Marcus looked toward the street.
Then back at Victoria.
“Did they take your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Your glasses?”
“Yes.”
“The company token?”
Victoria watched him carefully.
She had not told anyone about the token.
Officially, it was stored in Hayes Biotech’s secure headquarters.
Only four people knew she carried it personally that night.
Victoria.
Her chief legal officer.
Her assistant.
And Marcus.
His face changed when he realized what he had revealed.
Daniel heard it too.
“What token?” he asked.
Marcus rose.
“This conversation is over.”
He turned toward the SUV.
At that moment, Sofia pointed beneath the vehicle.
“Daddy, that man dropped something.”
A small black earpiece lay on the wet pavement.
Daniel picked it up using the edge of his sleeve.
A voice crackled through it.
“Vale, confirm whether she still has the authorization key.”
May you like
Marcus froze.
Cliffhanger: The men who robbed Victoria were still speaking to Marcus—and they were not after her money, but the key controlling the future of her company.
