Chapter 5 - The Viper’s Strike
By Friday evening, the news that a child had been moved into the forbidden east wing suites had rippled through the staff of the Kang estate like wildfire.
In the subterranean security monitoring room beneath the mansion, head of security Marcus Vance leaned over a bank of glowing monitors, watching the thermal feeds of the private family quarters.
The heavy steel door of the monitoring room hissed open.
Serena Yoon walked in, wearing an emerald silk wrap dress that cost more than a small car, her heels clicking a sharp, unforgiving rhythm against the concrete floor.
“Marcus,” she said smoothly, not bothering to look at the guards stationed by the door.
“Miss Yoon,” Marcus nodded, standing up from his chair. He was a veteran of private military contracting in Eastern Europe—loyal to Daniel, but entirely pragmatic about who signed the payroll checks for the estate operations. “Can I help you with something?”
“I want the logs,” Serena said, walking right up to the main console.
Marcus blinked. “What logs?”
“The employment records for the cleaning staff. Specifically, the woman working under the alias Amara Johnson.” Serena turned her head, her eyes narrowing with cold calculation. “Daniel is a brilliant strategist, Marcus, but men of power are easily blinded by sentimentality and sudden surprises. That woman is an opportunist. She spent months plotting her way into this estate, waiting for the right moment to trap him with a fabricated child.”
Marcus hesitated. “With respect, Miss Yoon, Mr. Kang already verified her identity. He had the medical files and the birth records pulled from St. Jude’s Hospital in Aurora by noon today.”
Serena’s face tightened into an ugly, pinched expression. “And what did the files say?”
“They said the child is his,” Marcus replied quietly.
For three seconds, the room was dead silent. Serena’s manicured fingers curled into the edge of the console so hard her knuckles turned white. The emerald engagement ring Daniel had placed on her finger three months ago caught the cold blue light of the monitors, glinting like ice.
“A bloodline,” Serena whispered bitterly. “He thinks a bastard child gives her leverage over the Kang estate.” She looked up at Marcus, her gaze hardening into something sharp and poisonous. “Listen to me very carefully, Marcus. The Yoon family didn't agree to this alliance so Daniel could turn his mansion into a Chicago orphanage. If that woman and her child remain in this house by Sunday night, the shipping contracts between Busan and the Port of Chicago will be tied up in litigation so fast your head will spin. Do you understand what that means for your employer’s empire?”
Marcus stared at her. He knew the financial stakes. He knew the Yoon family’s syndicate ties in South Korea were the only thing keeping Daniel’s expansion into the Asian market afloat against rival cartels.
“What are you suggesting, Miss Yoon?” Marcus asked cautiously.
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Serena said with a sweet, venomous smile. “I’m simply reminding you who feeds this estate. Tomorrow morning, Daniel has to fly to Milwaukee for the tripartite syndicate summit. He will be gone for twelve hours. While he is out of the house... you are going to give this Amara a generous severance package. You are going to put her and the child into a black town car, and you are going to escort them beyond the city limits.”
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“And if Mr. Kang asks?”
“Mr. Kang will return to a peaceful, orderly home,” Serena said smoothly, turning toward the exit. “And he will thank me for removing a distraction before it destroys everything he has built.”
