The Billionaire Infiltrator

Chapter 1: Colton The seventy-story glass tower of Ragnar Global sat high above the city streets. From up here, looking through the windows, everything below looked small and easily managed. Cars crawled like tiny beetles, and people walked along the sidewalks without knowing who was pulling the strings behind their lives. I checked the time on my phone, rolled my shoulders to stretch my back, and sat down at my desk. At thirty-two, I had more money than most small countries. I spent the last ten years building my tech company from scratch, turning it into a giant that controlled defense software, satellite communications, and major financial networks. To the public, I was just a rich guy who hated doing interviews. To a very small group of people in high-level government offices, I was something else entirely. Before the suits and the money, I was a soldier. A black-ops operator who took care of problems that couldn't be talked about in public. A low buzz came from my phone. I picked it up and tapped the screen. "Go ahead, Jaxith." Jaxith was my head of security and a guy I used to serve with back in the military. His face popped up on a secure video call. "It's done, boss," Jaxith said, looking down at some papers on his end. "The Eclipse family signed the contract ten minutes ago. Don Eclipse bought the story completely." I leaned back in my leather chair, tapping my fingers on the desk. "He didn't ask questions?" "Not a single one," Jaxith chuckled softly. "As far as Don Eclipse knows, you're Colton Ragnar. An ex-soldier who got kicked out of the military, ran out of cash, and needs a job guarding a rich family to pay off bad debts. He thinks he’s getting a top-tier killer for cheap." I smiled, though there was no humor in it. "Good. Let him think that." The Eclipse family was an old mafia syndicate trying to spread their reach into legitimate shipping businesses. My shipping businesses, to be exact. They thought they were being clever by moving money through my networks without my knowledge. They didn't realize that every server and every account they used was something I owned. I could have wiped them out financially in five minutes. I could have called in a few favors and had federal agents raid their homes before sunrise. But Don Eclipse had recently bought a stolen military drive containing advanced encryption software from one of my defense projects. If that software hit the dark web, it would compromise secure military networks all over the world. I needed that drive back without causing a public scene. The cleanest way to get it was to walk straight through their front door and take it myself. "Your quarters are set up in the guest house near the garage," Jaxith said. "You won't have access to your usual accounts, your drivers, or your luxury cars. Once you walk onto that estate, you have to play the broke, desperate bodyguard twenty-four hours a day." "I know how to play a role, Jaxith," I replied, grabbing a black canvas bag from the side of my desk. Inside was basic tactical gear, a standard handgun, and simple clothes. "What about the target?" "Don Eclipse assigned you directly to his eldest daughter," Jaxith said. He tapped his screen, and a profile photo appeared on my phone display. "Elloise Eclipse." I looked at the image. She had long, dark hair falling in loose waves over her shoulders and dark, sharp hazel eyes. Most photos of mafia daughters showed them smiling at fancy parties or looking bored while wearing expensive clothes. But Elloise didn't look bored. She looked calm, steady, and very observant, as if she were quietly studying the person taking the photo. "She’s twenty-four," Jaxith added. "Her father keeps her on a tight leash. She stays at the estate most of the time, only leaving for official family dinners or charity events. Eclipse uses her like a trophy to show off to his business partners. But our reports show she isn't just sitting around. She’s smart." "Everyone in that family lives off blood money," I said, sliding the phone into my pocket. "Smart or not, she’s part of the syndicate." "Just keep your eyes on the drive, boss. Don't let the girl distract you." "She won't." I closed the call, took off my expensive designer jacket, and unbuttoned my cuffs. I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows, revealing the old scars running across my arms from my military days. I tossed the suit jacket onto the couch and changed into a plain black t-shirt, dark cargo pants, and heavy boots. Two hours later, I was driving a beat-up SUV down a quiet road on Long Island. The Eclipse estate stood behind massive iron gates, surrounded by stone walls topped with security cameras. It looked more like a prison than a home. I stopped at the guardhouse, rolled down my window, and handed my forged ID to the guard standing outside. The guard took a look at my face, glanced at the picture, and then checked his clipboard. "Colton Ragnar?" "Yeah," I said, keeping my voice flat and raspy. He nodded, pressed a button inside the booth, and the heavy iron gates slowly swung open. "Drive up to the main house. The Don is waiting for you in the study." I drove up the long gravel driveway. Large oak trees lined both sides, casting long shadows across the grass. When I parked near the front steps, two armed guards walked out to meet me. They searched my bag, checked my belt for hidden weapons, and then led me through the heavy wooden front doors. The inside of the house was covered in marble floors, gold frames, and expensive paintings. It was built to impress people, to show off how much money the family had. To me, it just looked like a target. The guards led me up a grand staircase and down a long hallway toward a set of double doors. They didn't knock. One of them pushed the door open and pointed inside. "Go in." I walked into a large room lined with bookshelves. A fire crackled in the fireplace, throwing warm light across a heavy dark wood desk. Sitting behind the desk was Don Eclipse, a stocky man in his late fifties with graying hair and a thick leather cigar between his fingers. Standing near the window, looking out over the gardens, was Elloise. In person, she was even more striking than her photograph. She wore a simple dark dress that hung straight down, and her dark hair was pulled back into a loose clip. When the door opened, she didn't jump or look startled. She simply turned her head and looked at me. Her hazel eyes locked onto mine, tracking my movement as I walked across the room. There was no fear in her expression. Just a quiet, calculating glare. "Ragnar," Don Eclipse said, leaning back in his chair and blowing a puff of smoke into the air. "Your record says you were one of the best operators in your unit before you got kicked out." "I get the job done," I said, keeping my hands resting casually at my sides. "Good. Because my daughter here likes to make things difficult," Eclipse said, waving his cigar toward Elloise. "She thinks she can wander around the city without protection. She thinks she’s safer than she really is. Your job is simple. You stay three steps behind her everywhere she goes. You check her room, you check her car, and you make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Elloise crossed her arms over her chest and let out a quiet, sarcastic laugh. "I don't need a babysitter, Father." "You'll have one whether you like it or not," Eclipse snapped, slamming his hand onto the desk. He turned back to me. "She leaves this house only when I say so. If she tries to go anywhere else, you stop her. Understand?" "Understood," I said. Elloise walked away from the window, stopping a few feet in front of me. She was much shorter than me, but she stood straight, looking right up into my eyes. Up close, I could see the slight tension in her jaw and the sharp look in her eyes. She wasn't just annoyed by her father. She hated him. "You look expensive for a broke mercenary," she said softly, her voice cool and steady. "I'm expensive because I don't fail," I replied. She stared at me for a long moment, trying to read my face. I kept my expression completely blank, giving her nothing to work with. Finally, she stepped past me toward the door. "We'll see how long you last, bodyguard," she murmured as she walked out. I watched her leave, feeling a subtle shift in my chest. This was supposed to be a quick, simple mission to retrieve a stolen drive. But looking at the way Elloise walked out of that room, I realized keeping my eyes on the mission was going to be a lot harder than I thought.