The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

Trigger warning: This episode does contain small mention of s****/ assault. lan POV

"We don't have any time to lose. Midnight is approaching and Karen has Dawn hostage. There could be booby traps, bombs, and who knows what else. Your job is to spread out, locate the men waiting in the shadows, and signal to the others. Do not try and apprehend them until everyone is in position and ready. You have to do it at the same time or Karen will be aware that her men are no longer in control of the situation. We can't have her panicking and killing Dawn before we can get to her. Do you understand me?" My father's voice was firm and controlled.

The team we had with us nodded silently, all of them dressed in camouflage, weapons at the ready. We stopped, the men filing out of the truck, a distance away from the cemetery, as they began to split up, taking various directions. They had silencers on their weapons in case they had to take out Karen's men to prevent them from contacting one another. I was nervous. We were early. I was worried about Dawn, I was worried this plan wouldn't work, I was worried about all sorts of things. Knox however was quietly grabbing his EMP equipment and looking perfectly composed.

"You take out the communication now, we can't speak with our men" I warned him.

He raised a brow "Tell me something I don't know" he deadpanned.

My father shot us both a look that had us falling silent. The minutes passed by, unbearably slowly. It was torture. Every minute that passed was like a lifetime. I was growing frustrated, staring out into the darkness, wondering if our men had been found out, if they had been shot, if Karen had been warned we were coming for her. Everything was hanging on a thread. My fingers drummed restlessly on the arms of my chair, while Father waited patiently before our earphones sparked back to life. I breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the commander, in position, please advise."

"In position."

"In position"

on and on it went, until every single man was accounted for, confirming they were prepared to attack the enemy. My father closed his eyes in relief. "You are instructed to proceed," he said tightly.

Silence. It was nerve-wracking. Our men had been instructed to shoot and take no prisoners. It was ruthless but we weren't interested in taking prisoners today or contemplating the possibility that any of them might try and attack us if they regained consciousness. These men had chosen to take this job and put their lives in jeopardy. They had forfeited them. I could feel my breathing becoming shallow as the silence went on and on. Eventually, our earphones pricked back on.

"This is the commander, please confirm that your target has been annihilated."

"Confirmed, a target has been extinguished."

"Target is deceased."

"Target is annihilated."

All of the men confirmed they had killed their targets. Father breathed a sigh of relief. "Commander, be advised that the EMP machine will be turned on and you will lose contact in five minutes" he advised as Knox turned on the machine "Knox and lan will be making their way inside the cemetery and towards Karen Deluca. Please reposition yourselves and continue to search the cemetery for more targets. From now on it will be strictly radio silence until it's confirmed that Karen Deluca has been taken down." "Roger that Mr Grant. Gentlemen, begin to take formation and spread back out. Radio silence is a go from now on."

My father turned to us. "I won't be able to communicate with you and I wish you would reconsider me coming with" he began.

I shook my head "Karen's instructions were clear. I and Knox were to come alone. Thank you, but we'll take this from here." He nodded "then ensure that you take your weapons. You know how to use it. Don't hesitate, it could mean your lives" he said gruffly. I bowed my head "I am aware, father. Thank you."

"Thank me properly when you get back to the truck safe and sound, with your fiancee in your arms," my father said, standing tall "I am proud of both of you. You mean the world to me" he reached out and hugged us, before we moved backward, turning around, my chair moving slowly across the path as we made our way towards the cemetery which was eerily quiet, headstones shimmering beneath the moonlight.

"Where is Charlotte's headstone again?" I asked Knox.

He scowled "towards the back according to the blueprints I brought up. Surprisingly Karen didn't go for over-the-top ostentation one or a mausoleum" he murmured looking thoughtful.

I nodded, Knox standing behind me and patiently adjusting his strides to keep in line with my chair or occasionally helping if it got stuck. I gritted my teeth, frustrated beyond repair over how long it was taking me to make my way inside, vehemently aware of time ticking by. Any minute past midnight and Karen would not hesitate to kill Dawn. I knew she would do it. It was instinctive. I tried not to growl and fought the urge to glance around in order to see if our men were watching us. I couldn't afford to give away anything if Karen had us in her sights.

We looked at the grass. "I'm going to have to push you," Knox said bluntly.

I grimaced and gave up control. Knox pushed me up the hill, the wheels going through the grass roughly, the dirt and debris making it even harder to move. Knox made no protest, no murmur, simply pushed until we found ourselves in front of Karen and Dawn, a small distance away, Karen's smile growing wide as we drew nearer. She looked demented. It was easy to see that she was no longer thinking rationally, not with the crazed look on her face.

I sucked in a breath. She had a gun pointed at Dawn's head and an arm or hand wrapped around Dawn's throat, keeping her tightly in line. I could see that there were bandages around Dawn's leg, had she been shot or injured? Fury pulsated through me, even as I fought to keep my expression calm instead of giving my anger away. We were but two feet away when Karen spoke, Dawn's eyes resting on mine as I gave her a reassuring smile.

"I think that's far enough," she said, raising a brow.

For somebody who was mad, she looked surprisingly controlled. Knox immediately stopped pushing my chair and stood back, viewing Karen in disgust. She looked at us both. Her lips curved into a smile "Well it looks like you made it just in time" she cooed, glancing at her wristwatch while we made no effort to move towards her "Now remove the weapons you have on you and kick them towards me" she ordered.

I hesitated. She pointed the gun down and shot next to Dawn's foot, making Dawn jump and scream. She placed the gun back at Dawn's head and glared at us. "Next time it will be her kneecap" she threatened as I glared at her "Weapons, now" she demanded. Knox pulled out the small gun he had in his belt and silently put it on the ground, kicking it over to her. She stared at me. I bent over from the waist and pulled out the small handgun from the ankle bolster, throwing it towards Karen, the gun landing next to her as she smirked at me.

"There, that wasn't so hard now was it" she purred.

b***h. I could feel myself shaking. Not in fear. But in rage. Pure unadulterated rage. Dawn's eyes were filled with tears and fear and there were bruises on her body. She'd been manhandled. No doubt by Karen's men and Karen herself. She looked dirty, her clothes were crumpled and she looked haggard. I felt my chest tighten. Visit Job ni b .co m to read the complete chapters for free. This was all my fault. Dawn had been through all of this because of me. I narrowed my eyes, but before I could speak, there was a loud static noise, causing me to wince and Karen to give a loud groan, before she grabbed the earpiece out of her ear and flung it to the ground, the sound too ear-piercing for her to handle.

"What did you do" she cried, as Knox and I stared at her with inscrutable expressions "Where are my men?" she suddenly asked, turning to glance around her, as though realizing for the first time that Knox and I had managed to come to her unescorted "I told you to come alone" she hissed.

I didn't have time to answer. Two of her men came out of the shadows. Damn. Our team must have missed them. Karen looked relieved. "Well it looks like you didn't get all of them," she said smugly.

She nodded at the men. "I think lan should see his fiancee roughed up a little" she smirked.

"Don't touch her" I threatened, as the man stepped up next to Dawn and then slapped her brutally across the face, causing her to whimper in pain "Don't you f*****g touch her" I yelled.

Karen laughed "Oh this is so much fun, isn't it lan" she said, while Knox put a hand on my shoulder, preventing me from trying to move my chair forward "Hit her again," she said and the man obliged, kneeing Dawn in the stomach and causing her to make a choking sound as Karen relaxed her grip on her neck so she could double over in pain.

"You b***h" I hissed as Karen looked over at me "When I get my hands on you" I promised, my voice shaking.

I was going to rip her limb from limb. I was going to kill her in cold blood. I could see blood trickling from Dawn's lip and felt rage consume me. The man glanced over towards me with a smile on his face. He was enjoying himself. The other man put himself between Karen and us, in case we tried to make a move. Karen pointed the gun at us. I clenched my hands into fists.

"You really care for Dawn, don't you lan," she said, c*****g her head "It's killing you to watch her be hurt like this."

"Again," she told the man without turning her head.

This time he ruthlessly slammed his hand into her stomach, dropping her to the floor as she screamed in pain. My heart skipped a beat. Bastard. I was going to kill him. I could feel myself shaking in my rage. Knox looked sickened but he couldn't move while Karen had the gun pointed at us.

"Maybe we should give lan something else to watch. Something else that might break him" Karen suddenly suggested, looking at the man, "you think she's attractive don't you?" she asked meaningfully.

Oh god no. No, no, no. The man looked at me, smiled, and then nodded slowly. "I wouldn't mind having a piece of that" he rasped.

Karen waved her hand dismissively. "Then, by all means, feel free. I think I might enjoy watching lan's face as she screams," she told him as he began to bend over Dawn.

"You" she said to the other man, "get the other gun and keep it pointed towards them. I want to see lan's face as his fiancee gets destroyed in every way possible."