Chapter 3 - The Breaking of the Steel
In the top-floor executive suite of Vance Tower, Carter Vance stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, sipping black coffee. At thirty-four, Carter was a towering figure of broad shoulders, sharp jawline, and eyes as cold as slate—a man hardened by betrayal and forged by relentless ambition.
Suddenly, his desk terminal let out a sharp, rhythmic pinging sound.
Carter turned, his brow furrowing. The master energy dashboard was flashing a severe voltage anomaly warning in Sector 4—specifically, the industrial storage wing owned by Bennett Pharmaceuticals.
"Security," Carter spoke into his lapel mic, his deep voice slicing through the quiet room. "What’s triggering the manual breaker surge at Bennett’s facility?"
"Checking now, Mr. Vance," his chief of security replied over the com link. "It looks like an internal mechanical bypass was triggered manually from inside Freezer Vault B. But Bennett’s building is supposed to be cleared for the night. Their security cameras just went offline."
Carter’s eyes narrowed. Derek Bennett.
Carter had been tracking Bennett’s movements for months, waiting for the right moment to destroy his former rival legally and financially. He knew Bennett was drowning in four hundred thousand dollars of illegal gambling debts. He knew Bennett had recently taken out a massive, short-term insurance umbrella.
"Get the breaching team," Carter commanded, grabbing his coat. "We’re going over there now."
"Sir, that’s private property—"
"I own the land under his building," Carter growled, walking toward the private express elevator. "And Bennett is a scoundrel who just cut his own security feeds. Something is wrong."
Three minutes later, Carter and four armed security guards slammed through the side doors of the Bennett Pharmaceutical warehouse. The building was dead silent, dark save for the emergency exit signs.
Carter strode directly to the heavy vault door of Freezer B. The digital screen read −52°F. The external heavy manual deadlock was thrown from the outside.
"Someone locked this from the hall," Carter’s lead officer muttered, pulling out a heavy battery-powered grinder.
"Do it fast," Carter ordered.
Sparks flew wildly across the dark concrete floor as the metal saw bit into the heavy iron latch. Within ninety seconds, the deadbolt shattered. Carter stepped forward, grabbed the frosted lever, and heaved the heavy steel door open.
A blast of sub-zero fog poured out into the warm warehouse air.
Carter stepped into the mist. His flashlights cut through the frost, landing on a small, motion-less figure curled on the floor in the far corner.
"Grace?" Carter’s breath caught in his throat.
He sprinted across the frozen floor, dropping to his knees beside her. Her skin was marble-white, her lips blue, and her fine blonde hair covered in soft frost. But what made Carter’s heart freeze in his chest was the pool of dark blood spreading across her thin dress beneath her swollen belly.
"Carter..." Grace’s eyes fluttered open barely a crack, her voice nothing more than a faint, raspy breath. "My... my babies..."
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Without a second’s hesitation, Carter scooped her frozen, shivering body into his arms, pulling her tight against his chest to wrap her in his heavy wool coat.
"Get the medical chopper on the roof of my building now!" Carter roared over his shoulder, carrying her out of the freezer as fast as his legs could move. "She’s in full labor!"
