Chapter 16
"If you touch a single hair on her head, I will hunt down every single one of you until there is nothing left of your syndicate," Chloe replied, her voice dropping into a lethal, freezing register of absolute fury. The caller let out a dry, chilling mechanical laugh that seemed to vibrate directly inside the bones of her skull before the connection abruptly terminated with a sharp, piercing dial tone. Chloe did not waste a single second panicking; instead, her hyper-focused executive mind kicked into tactical combat mode, shifting from victim to apex predator in an instant. She dialed a direct, high-priority emergency override extension that connected straight to her elite private security chief and former Navy SEAL commander, Marcus.
"Marcus, code black; my mother has been abducted from the penthouse, and our internal smart network has been hijacked by an external military-grade exploit," Chloe commanded flawlessly. "I'm mobilizing the tactical response team right now, Miss Vance; lock down your location and do not open the door for anyone," Marcus replied with grim, unwavering professionalism. As she waited for her security team to arrive, Chloe walked over to the shattered balcony, looking out at the glittering American city that suddenly felt like a battlefield waiting to explode into total chaos.
