Chapter 2: The Echo of Retribution
The same elegant party continued just twenty yards away, the laughter of the oblivious elite filtering down the corridor. It was the same hidden nightmare Katherine had endured for two grueling years. The only difference was the heavy, rhythmic footsteps suddenly echoing down the hall.
Julian didn't even look up at first, blinded by his own malicious dominance and feeling perfectly safe in his position of power. He assumed it was just a waiter or a stray guest. He tightened his grip on Katherine's bruised arm, pulling her closer to force her back into the ballroom. "Pull yourself together, Katherine. One wrong look, and you know what happens when we get back to the estate."
But the footsteps didn't fade. They grew louder, heavier, and terrifyingly synchronized.
Katherine's eyes went wide as she looked past Julian’s shoulder. The tears running down her face froze. Julian, noticing the sudden shift in her expression, turned around arrogantly, a smug sneer rising to his lips.
The sneer vanished instantly.
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Marching down the luxurious marble hallway was a wall of men dressed in identical, dark carbon-fiber tactical suits. They moved with absolute, military precision, their expressions carved from stone. Leading the pack was a man whose face was plastered across every global financial textbook—Arthur Montgomery, Katherine’s notoriously powerful father, a reclusive billionaire who controlled the city’s shipping ports and private security infrastructure.
Arthur had been out of the country for a year, leading Julian to believe the old man was safely detached from his daughter's life. He was dead wrong.
