CHAPTER 2: THE ARRIVAL
CHAPTER 2: THE ARRIVAL
The driver was still laughing when the first SUV screeched to a halt.
Then came the second.
And the third.
The entire street fell silent.
Neighbors who had gathered to watch instinctively stepped back.
The man's confident grin slowly faded.
The doors of the SUVs opened in perfect synchronization.
Six men in dark suits stepped out.
No shouting.
No threats.
Just calm, disciplined movements.
The kind that made people nervous.
The driver swallowed hard.
"W-what is this?"
The little girl remained seated on the grass.
Her bicycle lay twisted beside her.
One of the men hurried toward her.
"Miss Emma, are you hurt?"
The driver's face turned pale.
Miss Emma?
The man looked at the child again.
For the first time, he noticed the small silver crest embroidered on her backpack.
A crest he had seen before.
A crest belonging to one of the largest technology corporations in the country.
Then the final SUV door opened.
A tall man stepped out.
The entire street froze.
Even the driver recognized him instantly.
Every business magazine in America had featured his face.
Every financial news channel talked about him.
Billionaire entrepreneur Daniel Hartwell.
Emma's father.
And the founder of the company that employed nearly twenty thousand people.
The driver's knees nearly gave out.
Because he knew something nobody else on Willow Road knew.
His luxury car wasn't really his.
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It belonged to Hartwell Technologies.
And he was one of its senior executives.
