Chapter 6 - the bloodline anomaly
Dominic’s enforcers moved into tactical formation instantly, taking defensive positions around the penthouse foyer with heavy sidearms drawn.
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He stood up, pulled a sleek black sidearm from his shoulder holster, and looked at Claire.
"Get the boys into the panic room behind the closet," Gabriel commanded, his voice steady and calm despite the looming danger. "Marcus will seal the door from the inside."
Claire didn't argue. She ran into the bedroom, gently waking the three sleeping boys. Ethan picked up his shoes, Noah grabbed Lucas’s hand, and together they followed Claire into the reinforced panic room concealed behind the master closet.
Outside in the foyer, the elevator doors slid open with a sharp bell.
Six armed men in dark tactical gear stepped out, weapons raised. But before they could clear the threshold, Gabriel and his elite enforcers opened fire with lethal, terrifying precision.
The gunfight lasted less than thirty seconds. Gabriel moved with fluid, masculine grace, taking down three attackers himself before the remaining men surrendered, dropping their weapons onto the marble floor.
Among the captured men was Arthur Vale’s personal chief of security, who was dragged into the light by Marcus.
Gabriel walked over, stepping over the discarded weapons, his white shirt spotless despite the violence that had just transpired. He pressed the barrel of his sidearm against the security chief's forehead.
"Why did Arthur send you here tonight?" Gabriel asked coldly.
"He... he needed the boys' blood samples!" the chief gasped out, trembling in terror under Gabriel’s lethal glare.
Gabriel froze, his brow furrowing. "Blood samples? Why?"
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"Because of... because of your grandfather's original syndicate charter!" the man stammered. "The Cross Trust... it can only be unlocked by a direct male heir who carries both the Cross bloodline and the Bennett bloodline! Arthur discovered three months ago that Claire’s mother was the last living descendant of the European founding families! If Arthur got those blood samples... he could forge the trust transfer before you found out the boys existed!"
Gabriel’s eyes widened in profound, breathtaking shock. Claire wasn't just his ex-wife—her mother’s family was the original sovereign lineage that had established the entire international syndicate decades ago.
