Chapter 9 - THE SHADOW OF THE ESTATE
Twenty minutes later, the three-SUV convoy turned off the main highway and passed through massive, wrought-iron security gates set into a high stone wall on the outskirts of Bloomfield Hills. The estate stretched across acres of dark, snow-dusted woods—a towering, modern fortress of glass, black steel, and slate stone, lit by warm, hidden exterior lighting.
The vehicles pulled directly into an underground, climate-controlled garage beneath the main mansion. The garage was pristine, lined with luxury vehicles and private medical equipment, staffed by two full-time private nurses in white scrubs who were waiting with a specialized transport chair the moment the Escalade stopped.
The medical team moved quickly, gently lifting Belle out of the vehicle and securing her into the chair to transfer her directly to the mansion's private medical wing on the second floor.
Rue stepped out of the vehicle, feeling entirely out of place in her stained server dress and cheap coat amidst the opulence of the Voss fortress. She looked around at the pristine marble floors and the armed guards posted at every entrance, feeling the heavy weight of Harlan Voss's world pressing in around her.
"I should go now," Rue said quietly, stepping back toward the vehicle bay. "Your daughter is safe, she's with her doctors. You can just call me a cab."
Harlan stepped out of the SUV, closing the door behind him. He removed his heavy overcoat, handing it to a waiting butler without looking, revealing his broad, powerful frame clad in his dark suit.
"No cab is coming here tonight, Miss Callaway," Harlan said, his voice smooth, deep, and absolute. "You are a witness to an attempted abduction of my daughter, and you hold a name that makes you a target the moment you step back onto those streets."
Rue's eyes widened. "Abduction? She was lost in a parking garage!"
"Belle did not walk three miles from her private school to the Meridian Theater in freezing weather with one shoe missing," Harlan said, his dark eyes narrowing into twin slits of pure iron. "She was taken from her transport detail by professional contractors. She escaped, hid behind that pillar, and you found her before my enemies could reclaim her."
Rue felt the air leave her lungs. The horror of what Belle had truly escaped washed over her, making her knees feel weak.
"Which means," Harlan continued, taking three slow steps toward Rue until he stood directly over her, "the people who took her know your face now. They saw you on the street feeds. They know a waitress stopped their ten-million-dollar leverage play."
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Rue looked up at him, her heart hammering against her ribs. "So what are you saying?"
"I am saying," Harlan replied, leaning down slightly so his dark, intense face was inches from hers, "that until I find every single man involved in this attempt and erase them from this city, you are staying under my roof, under my protection, and under my eyes."
