Victoria smoothed down the front of her expensive cream silk blouse, forcing a tight, nervous smile.
Victoria: Don't be dramatic, darling. I only came by to retrieve the family heirloom your grandmother left in the will. The prenup allows me to keep personal jewelry!
Roman: The prenup was voided the minute you filed that fraudulent lawsuit against my father's estate.
Victoria: That was just business, Roman! My divorce lawyer advised me to secure my financial future!
Roman: Did your lawyer also advise you to hire thugs to kidnap an eleven-year-old child?
Victoria’s face drained of all color, her manicured fingers twitching at her side.
Victoria: I... I don't know what you're talking about. Are you listening to that filthy little maid behind you?
Sadie flinched behind Roman's broad shoulder, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.
Sadie: You told them on the speakerphone to take Toby from Elm Street! You gave them his picture!
Victoria: Shut your mouth, you pathetic beggar! You clean toilets for minimum wage, how dare you speak to me?!
Victoria lunged forward with her hand raised, aiming a vicious strike straight at Sadie's face.
Before her hand could travel four inches, Roman's arm shot out like iron, catching Victoria’s wrist in a vise-like grip.
Victoria screamed as the bones in her wrist ground together under his immense grip.
Victoria: Let go of me! You're hurting me, Roman!
Roman: You lay one more finger on anyone in my household, and I won't just ruin you financially.
He shoved her backward so hard that she stumbled over the mahogany desk, knocking over a crystal decanter of bourbon.
The amber liquid splashed across the floor, soaking the edge of her designer heels.
Victoria: You brute! You think you own this city just because you're a billionaire?! My family has politicians in our pocket!
Roman: Your family hasn't had a solvent bank account in three years. You took out a second mortgage on your father's estate to pay off loan sharks.
Victoria: That is none of your business!
Roman: It became my business when you tried to extort fifty million dollars from my private offshore account using an innocent kid as collateral.
Victoria backed up against the opened wall safe, panting heavily as sweat broke out along her forehead.
Victoria: You can't prove anything. The men holding the boy don't work for me. They're just independent contractors!
Roman: Sadie, give me the burner phone.
Sadie handed Roman the cracked black phone, her hands still shaking with adrenaline.
Roman tapped the screen, turning up the volume to maximum before pressing play on the internal audio recorder.
Recorded Voice: Victoria Vance authorized transfer of five hundred thousand dollars upon delivery of the safe combination. Kid is secured in warehouse four.
Victoria’s eyes grew dinner-plate wide as she recognized the voice of her own brother.
Victoria: No... how did you get that?
Roman: I bought the cellular tower your brother is pinging off of three weeks ago. Now, give me the warehouse address, or we start clearing your debts through federal liquidation.
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