Chapter 4 - The Court of the ArrogantInside Suite 1204, the air smelled of expensive perfume, stale champagne, and catered food.
Seven women were gathered around a large marble dining table in the center of the room. At the head of the table sat Linda Parker, wearing a silk robe, holding a gold pen over a stack of legal documents. Her three sisters and three nieces were gathered around her, laughing over glasses of crystal-stemmed prosecco, casually tossing torn pieces of Emily’s lace veil into an ice bucket.
"I'm telling you, Linda," one of the sisters cackled, "that little girl won't say a word. By tomorrow morning, she'll sign whatever you put in front of her just to avoid another round."
"She’s weak," Linda said, taking a slow sip of her drink. "Just like her mother. They think owning a piece of Uptown real estate makes them special. In this town, people like us take what we—"
The heavy mahogany door crashed open, slamming against the interior wall with the force of a gunshot.
Linda jumped, spilling her champagne across the tablecloth. "What in the world—"
Daniel stepped into the suite, throwing a half-conscious Jason onto the hardwood floor at Linda’s feet like a sack of dirty laundry.
The room erupted into shrieks of shock.
"Jason!" Linda gasped, dropping her glass as her son groaned on the floor, gasping for air and clutching his bruised throat. She looked up, her face twisting into pure, aristocratic rage. "Who are you?! Security! Call security right now!"
One of the nieces reached for the house phone on the sideboard, but Daniel moved with terrifying speed. He crossed the room in two long strides, grabbed the telephone base, tore the cord straight out of the wall, and threw it through the floor-to-ceiling glass patio door.
CRASH!
The heavy glass shattered into a thousand glittering shards, letting the freezing Texas rain and wind howl into the warm room.
The women screamed, backing away toward the velvet sofas, clutching their pearl necklaces.
"Sit down," Daniel ordered.
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't shout. But the tone was so dark, so heavy with immediate physical threat, that all six relatives instantly sank onto the couch, trembling in terror.
Linda, however, stood her ground. She smoothed her silk robe, her chest heaving, trying to summon the arrogance that had protected her her entire life.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" Linda sneered, pointing a trembling finger at Daniel. "My brother is Senior Judge Edward Parker! My husband owns half the commercial real estate in Dallas! You step one foot closer to me, and I will have you rotting in a federal prison for the rest of your pathetic life!"
Daniel didn't answer. He walked slowly over to the marble dining table.
He picked up the stack of legal documents Linda had been preparing—the forced deed transfer papers for Emily’s Uptown penthouse. He looked at them for three seconds, then tore them cleanly in half, throwing the scraps into the cold rain blowing through the shattered patio door.
Then, Daniel reached inside his field jacket.
He pulled out his matte-black Sig Sauer P226, racking the slide with a heavy, metallic CLACK, chambering a 9mm round.
Linda’s eyes went wide as dinner plates. She staggered backward until her spine hit the wall, all the color draining from her face in an instant.
"Y-you..." she stammered, her arrogant posture instantly crumbling into raw, hysterical fear. "You can't... you can't shoot us! This is a hotel!"
Daniel set the heavy handgun down on the center of the marble table with a dull thud. He placed his hands flat on the wood, leaning forward until he was staring directly into Linda’s terrified eyes.
"I'm not going to shoot you, Linda," Daniel whispered smoothly. "Death is too clean. Death is too easy."
May you like
He leaned closer.
"I spent twenty-five years in Special Operations," Daniel said, his voice cold enough to freeze the blood in her veins. "I have tracked men through mountains, deserts, and warzones. I know every bank account your family owns. I know where your husband hides his offshore tax shelters. I know every judge your brother has taken a bribe from. And starting right now, at 4:15 in the morning... I am going to tear your entire world apart piece by piece."
Related Stories
