Chapter 34 - The warning in the garden
Grace followed Alexander Cross down the executive elevator and out toward the subterranean parking structure, keeping five paces behind him. When they reached the shadow of a concrete pillar away from the lobby cameras, she spoke.
"Marcus didn't send you just to talk," Grace said, her voice hard as granite.
Cross stopped. He turned slowly, putting his hands into his pockets. "Marcus sends his warmest regards, Captain Mercer. He told me you'd probably traded your rifle for a broom and a comfortable pension. He didn't expect you to look so soft."
"Try me," Grace said, stepping into his personal space, her eyes unblinking. "I put Marcus behind bars once. I can put you in the ground."
Cross chuckled, a low, rasping sound that echoed off the damp concrete. "You don't understand the board you're playing on, Grace. Ten years ago, you thought Julian and that pathetic socialite Sabrina were the architects of Lily’s misery. They were nothing. Julian was a terrified middleman who borrowed five million dollars from us to pay off his gambling debts, promising to repay it with Lily’s inheritance once Ethan married Sabrina."
Grace felt a cold weight settle in her chest. "And Sabrina?"
"Sabrina was Julian’s puppet," Cross sneered. "She thought she was marrying a billionaire. Julian was using her to get his hands on the master trust. When you broke Julian’s jaw and put them both in prison, our money stayed locked inside Caldwell's frozen assets."
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Cross took a step closer, tapping the lapel of his expensive jacket. "Marcus was transferred to a minimum-security facility three weeks ago on medical grounds. Two days later, he walked out the front door. We don't want Caldwell Industries, Grace. We want the sixty million dollars currently sitting in Lily’s private trust. If you don't release the funds by Friday midnight, we won't come for Ethan."
He leaned toward her ear. "We will take the girl."
