Chapter 52 - THE AMBUSH AT BLACKWOOD RIDGE
"Release him, Laurent," I ordered smoothly. Laurent pushed Sterling backward into his chair, where the old man sat panting, rubbing his bruised wrist, his eyes burning with venomous hatred.
"You think this is over, you bastard?" Sterling snarled through gritted teeth. "You think you can take this estate with a few balance sheets? You won't live to see the Royal Courts of Justice tomorrow morning!"
"Is that a threat, Lord Sterling?" Arthur asked, his voice cracking like a whip.
"It is a reality!" Sterling spat.
Without another word, Sterling grabbed Beatrice by the arm and stormed out of the hall through the private family corridors, leaving Katherine, Arthur, and me standing in the echoing quiet of the dining room.
"He won't flee, Alexander," Arthur warned gravely. "He controls the Blackwood private security division—two dozen armed mercenaries garrisoned at the old hunting lodge. When he realizes the legal walls have closed in, he will choose violence."
"Let him try," I said. "Laurent, ready the transport. We transfer the original vellum decree and the evidence drives to the High Court registry in London tonight. We do not wait for dawn."
Twenty minutes later, a convoy of two armored Range Rovers departed the manor, cutting through the dense fog toward the southern exit through Blackwood Ridge. The winding mountain road was bordered by sheer stone drops on one side and impenetrable forest on the other.
As our lead vehicle rounded a sharp bend at the crest of the ridge, blinding high-beams suddenly illuminated the mist from across the road.
A massive tree trunk had been felled across the tarmac.
"Ambush!" Laurent shouted, throwing the transmission into reverse.
May you like
Before the tires could gain traction on the wet asphalt, three heavy black SUVs surged out of the tree line, boxing our rear. Men in tactical gear leaped out, leveling automatic weapons directly at our armored chassis.
The crack of heavy-caliber rounds shattered the night air, striking the reinforced glass in deafening succession.
