Audrey stepped around Julian sharply.

“Leave.”

Daniel sighed. “You disappeared with no warning. That hurt my feelings.”

“You don’t have feelings.”

“Still dramatic after all these years.”

Julian looked between them. “Audrey.”

She closed her eyes briefly.

Then finally spoke.

“After I left Chicago… I stayed at a hotel near Albany.” Her voice trembled faintly. “I found out I was pregnant.”

Julian stared at her.

“With twins,” she continued. “I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do.”

Daniel smiled faintly. “And then we met.”

Julian turned sharply.

Audrey’s expression hardened with disgust.

“He owned the property beside the hotel. We started talking. He was charming. Helpful. Safe.”

“But?” Julian asked quietly.

Her eyes filled with shame.

“But Daniel wasn’t interested in me.”

Daniel gave a tiny shrug.

“I was interested in leverage.”

Julian’s blood ran cold.

Audrey continued carefully, unwilling to look at him.

“Daniel came from money. Old money. But he lost most of it through gambling and fraud. By the time I realized who he really was…” Her voice cracked. “I was already trapped.”

Daniel leaned casually against a chair.

“She makes it sound so sinister.”

“You threatened me,” Audrey snapped.

“You had access to Julian Foster.”

Julian felt ice settle in his chest.

Daniel had used Audrey to reach him.

“For nearly a year,” Audrey whispered, “he kept pressuring me to reconnect with you. To get financial information. Investor details. Expansion plans.”

Julian understood instantly.

Corporate espionage.

Daniel smiled toward him.

“You’d be amazed what desperate people will pay for access to billion-dollar hotel acquisitions.”

Julian’s jaw tightened. “And when she refused?”

Daniel’s expression changed slightly.

Something uglier emerged beneath the charm.

“I became persuasive.”

Audrey looked away.

That was answer enough.

Julian suddenly noticed how she flinched whenever Daniel shifted closer.

Rage unlike anything he had ever known flooded him.

“You touched her,” he said quietly.

Daniel’s smile vanished.

“Careful.”

“No,” Julian said. “You be careful.”

For the first time, Daniel studied him seriously.

Not the broken alcoholic from tabloids.

Not the grieving husband.

A father.

A dangerous one.

Daniel adjusted his coat calmly.

“I’m not here for conflict. I’m here because Audrey owes me.”

“I owe you nothing.”

“You disappeared with documents worth millions.”

Julian looked sharply at Audrey.

She shook her head immediately.

“I stole them before I ran.”

Daniel’s eyes darkened.

“She became inconvenient after developing morals.”

Julian almost laughed bitterly.

Audrey had always been incapable of becoming cruel.

Even when life rewarded cruelty far more generously.

Daniel extended a hand slightly.

“The documents, Audrey.”

“No.”

Thunder exploded outside again.

And then Elliot screamed.

Everyone turned.

The younger twin stood near the counter staring at the window in terror.

A black SUV had stopped outside the café.

Two men were stepping out.

Daniel cursed under his breath.

Julian noticed immediately.

“You didn’t come alone.”

Daniel looked genuinely annoyed now.

“I told them not to follow me.”

“Who?”

Daniel’s jaw flexed.

“The people you really need to fear.”

PART 5 — The Men Waiting In the Storm

Everything happened at once.

The café lights flickered.

One of the men outside reached beneath his coat.

Daniel swore violently.

“Get down.”

Julian didn’t hesitate.

He lunged toward the boys just as the café windows exploded inward.

Glass erupted everywhere.

Customers screamed.

Audrey threw herself over Noah while Julian shielded Elliot beneath a table.

The first gunshot shattered coffee mugs behind the counter.

Chaos swallowed the room.

Daniel grabbed Audrey’s arm hard.

“We have to move!”

Julian ripped her away from him instantly.

“Don’t touch her.”

Another shot blasted through the café.

The gunmen were entering now.

Julian’s mind moved with terrifying clarity.

Back exit.