Chapter 3

Eloise flipped her wrist. A sharp, jagged piece of raw amethyst slid from her sleeve into her fingers. She gripped it tight, ready to drive the stone into the first man's carotid artery.

The lead guard, a man with a thick neck and cauliflower ears, lunged forward. He reached out a massive hand to grab Eloise by the collar.

Eloise's eyes narrowed. She raised the amethyst, aiming for the pressure point on his inner wrist.

Before she could strike, a sharp, authoritative cough echoed from the open doorway.

A solid black cane, topped with a gleaming silver wolf's head, shot out from the entryway. But the cane didn't strike the guard-it deflected the hand of the second guard who was reaching for Eloise's shoulder, sending his arm crashing into a nearby marble console table. Porcelain vase shattered, shards scattering across the floor.

The guards froze. A cold sweat broke out on the lead guard's neck. He slowly turned his head.

Standing in the doorway was an elderly man with perfectly combed silver hair. He wore a bespoke three-piece suit from Savile Row, tailored to absolute perfection. His posture was rigid, his eyes sharp and unforgiving.

Christopher McNeil surveyed the room, his gaze slicing through the chaos like a scalpel. He wasn't close enough to touch any of them-but he didn't need to be. The message was clear: he had eyes everywhere, and his reach extended far beyond his cane.

Without a word, two men in long black trench coats materialized from the shadows behind him. They moved with terrifying speed, crossing the vast foyer in seconds. In less than two heartbeats, the elite operatives swept the legs of the three Foreman guards. The sound of bones dislocating snapped through the air as the guards were pinned face-down against the hardwood, completely neutralized.

Mitch struggled to stand, his legs shaking. "Who the hell are you? This is private property! I'll have you arrested!"

Christopher ignored him entirely. He walked past the groaning guards, his cane tapping rhythmically against the floor, and stopped two feet in front of Eloise.

He bowed. It was a deep, respectful bow that belonged to a bygone era of aristocracy.

"Miss Palmer," Christopher said, his voice smooth and deeply respectful. "I apologize for my tardiness."

Brenda let out a harsh, ugly laugh. "Palmer? What kind of sick joke is this? She's a nameless stray. She doesn't even know who her real parents are!"

Christopher slowly turned his head. He looked at Brenda as if she were a cockroach on a dining table.

He unlatched his leather briefcase and pulled out a thick document bound in gold-embossed leather. He tossed it onto the glass coffee table. It landed with a heavy thud.

"A parting gift," Christopher said coldly. "To compensate the Foreman family for providing shelter to our young miss all these years."

Kylie crawled out from behind the sofa. Her phone vibrated violently against her thigh. She pulled it out with trembling fingers, her eyes locking onto a text message from her private driver: 'Miss Kylie, the mechanic just called. You are incredibly lucky. The front right inner sidewall of your Porsche had a massive bulge. It was minutes away from blowing out on the highway.'

Kylie's breath hitched. A cold sweat broke out on her neck as she stared at Eloise in sheer terror, realizing the prophecy was absolutely real. Shaking, she then squinted at the cover page. Her breath hitched. It was a Manhattan Land Trust document, transferring ownership of a prime commercial block.

Mitch saw the valuation at the bottom-three billion dollars.

He stared at it for a second, then burst into a wet, hacking laugh. "A three-billion-dollar trust? You expect me to believe this? You're just a con artist she hired to play dress-up!"

Christopher's expression did not change. He reached out and calmly picked the document back up. "If you refuse the compensation, then the Palmer family owes you nothing."

He turned back to Eloise and pulled a pair of pristine, white lambskin gloves from his pocket. He offered them to her. "Please, Miss Palmer. Do not dirty your hands in this place."

Eloise slipped the soft leather over her fingers. She picked up the straps of her broken duffel bag and walked toward the door.

As she passed Mitch, she stopped. She tilted her head, looking at the black veins pulsing on his neck.

"At exactly midnight tonight, your left lung will completely collapse," Eloise said, her voice devoid of pity. "That will be your only window to survive. Don't miss it."

Mitch's face twisted in pure rage. He grabbed a pair of heavy brass scissors from the side table and lunged at Eloise's back.

The two operatives in trench coats moved simultaneously.

The sharp, metallic clack of two Glock 19s racking rounds into their chambers echoed through the living room. The muzzles were aimed directly at Mitch's forehead.

Mitch dropped the scissors. They clattered against the floor as Eloise walked out into the freezing wind.