The line went dead.
Julian lowered Maya's phone, the silence in the master suite pressing against his eardrums like physical weight. He looked at the screen, then at Maya. She was trembling, her arms wrapped protectively around baby Alex, shielding the microscopic metal dot on his heel from the world.
He is in the lobby, Julian said, his voice stripped of all humanity. It was the voice of a man who was about to orchestrate a m******e. Your father.
Maya let out a choked breath, her hands tightening on the blankets. No. Julian, you cannot go down there. He is a monster. He does not negotiate. If he is in the tower, he brought an army.
I have an army too, Julian said, turning toward the hidden armory closet built into the mahogany paneled wall. He punched in a code, and the panel slid ope
