That night, David Yang's magnificent house was enveloped in an eerie silence. Elara lay in her bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. After being confined for days, her frustration and anger had morphed into a sullen resignation.
From outside, shadows moved swiftly and silently. Six men dressed in black military gear moved with high discipline. They were an elite team hired by Grant for a hefty price.
"Team A, disable the security systems. Team B, secure the perimeter," the team leader's voice was low through the communicator.
One team member expertly cut the underground electrical cables connected to the main security system. Seconds later, the entire house plunged into darkness, switching to emergency systems that were immediately hacked by Grant's cyber expert.
In her room, Elara heard the power go out. Her heart raced. She immediately got up, cautiously approaching the door.
"Robert?" she called out weakly.
But what she heard instead was the sound of shattering glass from the floor below. Elara stepped back in fear, searching for something to protect herself.
Outside, the assault team had already opened the main door with sophisticated equipment. They moved in perfect formation, efficiently and lethally neutralizing the guards one by one.
The two guards stationed in front of Elara's room heard the commotion and immediately prepared for combat. But they were overwhelmed by the far more trained team.
"UPSTAIRS ROOM! QUICK!" shouted one of the guards before the sound of suppressed gunfire was heard.
Elara heard the impact against her door. Panicked, she grabbed the burner phone from its hiding place and began typing a message. Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
"Robert, they're inside—" she typed, but then the sound of the door being broken down echoed.
The door to her room shattered into pieces. Three masked men entered with weapons drawn.
"Don't resist, Mrs. Yang," said their leader coldly.
Elara tried to fight back, throwing a flower vase towards them. But one of the men easily deflected it and roughly grabbed her arm.
"Quiet!" he snapped.
During the struggle, the gold necklace David had given her snapped and fell to the floor. Elara quickly hid the burner phone under the carpet while continuing to resist.
"They're taking Alisha—" she managed to type half the message before the phone was snatched and destroyed by one of the assailants.
"Take her!" commanded the team leader.
Elara was dragged out of the room. As she passed through the hallway, she saw two of David's loyal guards lying motionless on the floor, pools of blood surrounding them. She screamed, but her voice was muffled by a hand covering her mouth.
Outside, a black van was waiting with its engine running. Elara was thrown inside roughly. Before the door closed, she caught a glimpse of their magnificent home, now a battlefield—shattered windows, destroyed furniture, and the bodies of guards scattered everywhere.
"Grant sends a message," said the team leader before closing the van door. "David must surrender, or he will never see his wife again."
Meanwhile, in the speeding car, David and Robert watched all of this through CCTV footage that had been successfully saved to the cloud.
"No... Elara..." David whispered, his face turned deathly pale.
Robert immediately made a call. "Aegis Team, move out! Track Mrs. Yang's last signal! And reinforce security at Alisha's secret location!"
David stared at the screen with tear-filled eyes, then his expression transformed into burning anger. "Grant... you will regret touching my family."
He took out his phone and typed a short message: "Operation Phoenix activated. Destroy everything."
In the dark van, Elara took a deep breath. Though terrified, she knew David would do everything to save her. And she also knew—the war between the two property kings had just entered a more dangerous phase.