“Ladies and gentlemen,” Marcus proclaimed, raising his glass high. “Allow me to introduce the future of the Sterling dynasty—Leo Sterling!”

Before the applause could begin, Victoria stepped forward into the clear space of the ballroom floor.

Chap 17

The ballroom froze into dead silence.

Marcus’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, murderous glare that promised absolute annihilation.

Before Marcus could speak, a piercing siren shrieked through the ceiling speakers.

The emergency strobe lights flashed red, flooding the opulent room in harsh crimson pulses.

“Security, secure the exits!” Marcus roared, abandoning his aristocratic composure. “Take the boy upstairs!”

“Now, Victoria!” Julian shouted, pulling her through the immediate panic of screaming guests heading for the main doors.

They didn’t head for the stairs; Marcus had anticipated that.

Instead, Julian kicked open a concealed door behind the orchestra stage,

leading into the service elevator shaft.

“Sophia bypassed the lock on the maintenance lift,” Julian said, shoving the heavy gate closed.

The lift ascended rapidly, bypassing the chaotic mezzanine and opening directly into the lavish, wood-paneled hallway of the third-floor private quarters.

Two private security guards stood outside the master bedroom suite.

Julian moved with terrifying, lethal efficiency.

Before the first guard could draw his weapon, Julian closed the distance, striking him with an open palm to the jaw followed by a sweeping kick that drove the second guard into the wall.

Victoria didn’t wait for the guards to hit the floor.

She threw herself against the bedroom door, turning the brass handle and bursting inside.

The nanny stood in the corner of the room, clutching Leo against her apron,

her eyes wide with terror.

“Give him to me,” Victoria whispered, her voice breaking with an avalanche of maternal instinct.

“Who are you?” the nanny cried, stepping back toward the French balcony overlooking the ocean.

“I am his mother,” Victoria said, taking slow, deliberate steps forward.

Leo peeked out from behind the nanny’s skirt.

He looked at Victoria, his wide blue eyes scanning her face, pausing on the silver hairpin, the dark hair, and the tears spilling down her cheeks.

“You’re the lady from the painting,” the boy said, his voice small, sweet, and hesitant.

Victoria stopped, her heart swelling until it felt like it would burst through her ribs. “What painting, my darling?”

“The one Daddy keeps in the vault,” Leo said simply. “The woman with the brushes.”

“Yes,

” Victoria choked out, dropping to her knees and extending her trembling arms. “Yes, Leo. It’s me. I came to take you home.”

The boy broke free from the nanny’s grip and ran straight into Victoria’s embrace.

Wrapping her arms around his small, warm body, feeling his heartbeat against her collarbone, five years of nightmare, isolation, and grief dissolved in a single second.

“Victoria, we have to move!” Julian shouted from the doorway. “Marcus’s reinforcements are coming up the service stairs!”

Julian snatched Leo up with one arm, shielding him with his suit jacket, while pulling Victoria toward the rear terrace that connected to the estate’s private helipad and coastal driveway.

They burst out into the storm, the rain lashing against them as they raced toward an armored SUV waiting at the bottom of the terrace stairs.



Sophia was at the wheel, engine roaring, headlights cutting through the blinding downpour.

“Get in! Get in!” Sophia screamed over the thunder.

Julian threw Victoria and Leo into the back seat, diving in after them just as bullets began shattering the rear tinted glass.

Sophia slammed the accelerator, the tires screaming against wet gravel as they blew past the iron security gates onto Ocean Drive.

“We did it,” Victoria sobbed, holding Leo tightly against her chest in the dark interior of the speeding vehicle. “We actually got him.”

“We’re not safe yet,” Julian warned, checking the rear mirror.

Chap 18

“Hold on!” Sophia screamed, wrestling the steering wheel as the SUV skidded sideways across the rain-slicked asphalt.

The guardrail shrieked in agony as the heavy armored bumper scraped against the metal, sparks flying into the stormy night.

Below the cliff, the black Atlantic ocean roared violently against the sharp rocks.

Julian leaned across the rear seat, bracing Victoria and Leo with his own body as another impact smashed into their passenger side door.

“Sophia, take the service exit toward the abandoned lighthouse!” Julian ordered, pulling a compact submachine gun from beneath the floorboard.

Sophia yanked the wheel to the right, plunging the SUV down an unpaved logging road concealed by thick hemlock trees.

The trailing trucks overshot the turn, their red brake lights flashing briefly in the distance before disappearing around the coastal curve.

Sophia killed the headlights, rolling the SUV to a stop behind the rusted shell of an abandoned coast guard station.

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