CHAPTER 2: EXTRACTION
The doors didn’t open quickly.
They unlocked with precision.
A mechanical sequence. Controlled access.
Then—
They parted.
Six figures stepped inside in matte black, faces unreadable, movements perfectly synchronized. No wasted motion. No raised voices. Just presence.
The room froze.
Someone dropped a glass. It shattered loudly against the marble, but no one reacted.
Elliot’s jaw tightened. “You brought a private army to a gala?”
I gave a small shrug. “You brought violence first.”
The lead operative stopped a few feet from me.
“Miss Carter,” he said calmly. “We’re here.”
That was all.
No drama. No salute.
Just confirmation.
I nodded once.
“Secure the room.”
The team moved instantly. Two toward the exits. One toward the control panel. One scanning faces.
Elliot grabbed my arm suddenly, fingers tight, voice low and dangerous.
“You don’t walk out of this clean,” he hissed. “You think your father can bury this?”
I looked down at his hand gripping my arm.
Then back up at him.
“My father isn’t burying anything,” I said.
A beat.
“He’s digging.”
Elliot didn’t understand.
Not yet.
I turned slightly toward the lead operative. “Bring him.”
The operative tapped his earpiece.
Seconds later, another team entered.
With a man between them.
Older. Gray-haired. Expensively dressed.
Elliot went still.
“…Dad?”
The room shifted again.
Because everyone knew that man.
Senator Richard Crane.
May you like
Untouchable.
Until now.
