Chapter 12: The Attack
Chapter 12: The Attack
The emergency alarms screamed through Escalante Global Headquarters.
Every light went out at once.
The seventy-story tower disappeared into darkness.
Only the flashing red emergency lights illuminated the hallways.
Employees stopped in their tracks.
"What happened?"
"Is this a power outage?"
"No..."
A security officer pressed his earpiece.
"We've lost the camera system!"
Another voice crackled over the radio.
"Access control is offline!"
"Someone disabled the entire network."
On the rooftop, Mariana instinctively stepped back from the edge.
Alejandro immediately moved in front of her.
"Stay behind me."
Her chief of security, Marcus Reed, rushed through the rooftop door with three armed officers.
"Mrs. Escalante."
"We have to move."
"Now."
Mariana didn't argue.
She followed them toward the private elevator.
Halfway there—
Marcus suddenly raised his fist.
"Stop."
Everyone froze.
He pointed toward the elevator display.
Instead of moving normally...
The numbers were descending one floor at a time.
Someone was coming up.
Marcus drew his sidearm.
"No one uses this elevator except the Escalante family."
The elevator continued climbing.
Ding.
The doors slowly opened.
Every security officer raised their weapons.
But instead of an armed attacker...
A frightened young maintenance technician stumbled out with his hands raised.
"Please don't shoot!"
Marcus grabbed him by the arm.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Ethan."
"I work in building maintenance."
"Why are you using this elevator?"
"I didn't!"
"It opened by itself!"
Marcus studied him for a moment before releasing him.
The technician was terrified.
He wasn't lying.
Mariana looked toward the open elevator.
"The system is being controlled remotely."
Marcus nodded.
"They're testing our response."
Meanwhile...
Detective Sarah Collins raced through city traffic with federal agents close behind.
Her phone rang.
"Collins."
The cybersecurity director answered.
"The attack wasn't random."
"What do you mean?"
"The hackers only disabled one building."
"Escalante Headquarters."
"What about the police?"
"The FBI?"
"The city grid?"
"They're all operating normally."
Collins frowned.
"So Victor wants Mariana isolated."
"Exactly."
Inside the dark building...
Emergency generators finally activated.
Soft white lights flickered on.
Only half the power had returned.
Marcus looked around.
"We're leaving through the underground garage."
Alejandro nodded.
"Agreed."
The group entered the emergency stairwell.
As they descended...
Mariana noticed something unusual.
The seventh-floor emergency door stood slightly open.
She stopped walking.
"Marcus."
He turned.
"Someone's inside."
Marcus signaled two officers.
They quietly approached the door.
One officer pushed it open.
The office floor appeared empty.
Desks.
Computers.
Conference rooms.
Nothing moved.
Marcus slowly lowered his weapon.
"False alarm."
Just then...
A voice echoed through the speakers.
Calm.
Confident.
Almost amused.
"Good evening, Mariana."
Everyone froze.
Victor Hale.
His voice filled the entire floor.
"I have to admit..."
"You've exceeded my expectations."
Marcus immediately searched for the audio source.
"Locate those speakers!"
Victor laughed softly.
"Don't bother."
"You'll never find them."
Mariana stepped forward.
"What do you want?"
"To finish a conversation that began twenty years ago."
Alejandro's expression hardened.
"You murdered my wife."
Victor didn't deny it.
"I ordered a child to be killed."
"But fate had other plans."
Mariana clenched her fists.
"Why?"
Victor's answer was chilling.
"Because children grow into adults."
"And adults inherit empires."
Silence.
Victor continued.
"I knew one day you'd control Escalante Global."
"So I decided to remove the problem early."
Alejandro lunged toward one of the speakers.
Marcus grabbed his arm.
"No!"
Victor chuckled.
"Still emotional after all these years."
"You haven't changed, Alejandro."
"But your daughter has."
Mariana looked straight ahead.
"You've already lost."
Victor laughed.
"Have I?"
A nearby television suddenly switched on.
Then another.
Every monitor across the floor came to life.
Live financial news filled the screens.
The headline flashed in bright red.
BREAKING NEWS
ESCALANTE GLOBAL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION
Mariana stared at the screen.
"What?"
The news anchor continued.
"Anonymous evidence delivered overnight alleges decades of international fraud involving Escalante Global Holdings."
Alejandro shook his head.
"Those documents are fake."
Marcus immediately contacted the legal department.
Within seconds, he received confirmation.
"The allegations are fabricated."
"But every major news outlet already has them."
Victor spoke again.
"Truth no longer matters."
"Only timing."
Mariana suddenly understood.
He wasn't trying to win in court.
He was attacking public trust.
Investors.
Markets.
Reputation.
Exactly the way he had attacked Whitmore Capital years earlier.
Except this time...
His target was the Escalante empire.
Across town...
Andrew watched the same breaking news from the empty mansion.
His eyes widened.
"This isn't real."
Daniel Morris stood beside him.
"No."
"It's Victor."
Andrew grabbed his car keys.
"I'm going."
Daniel blocked the doorway.
"To where?"
"Escalante Headquarters."
"What are you going to do?"
Andrew didn't hesitate.
"For the first time in years..."
"I'm going to protect my wife."
Daniel stared at him.
"She's divorcing you."
"I know."
"She may never forgive me."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Andrew looked out the window.
"Because loving someone isn't about being loved back."
"It's about doing the right thing."
Without another word...
He ran out the front door.
Back inside Escalante Global...
Marcus finally restored part of the security network.
Camera feeds began returning one by one.
Parking garage.
Lobby.
Reception.
Then...
Camera 42 activated.
Marcus froze.
His face turned pale.
"What is it?" Mariana asked.
He slowly turned the monitor toward everyone.
A black van had entered the underground garage five minutes earlier.
Three masked men stepped out.
Each carried military-style equipment.
One of them held a small electronic device with blinking lights.
Marcus recognized it instantly.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"That's not a bomb..."
He zoomed in.
"...it's an electromagnetic pulse generator."
Alejandro frowned.
"What does it do?"
Marcus looked directly at Mariana.
"If they activate it..."
"...every electronic security system in this building dies instantly."
At that same moment...
One of the masked men looked directly into the security camera.
Then...
He smiled.
And raised three fingers.
Three...
Two...
One...
The screen went black.
The building fell into darkness once again.
May you like
And somewhere below...
The real attack had just begun.
