Chapter 8 - The School Gate Ambush and Lucy’s New Guardian
That afternoon, before the board meeting, I went to pick up Lucy’s favorite books and clothes from our private family storage unit.
Gabriel had assigned two professional, discreet executive protection agents to shadow us at all times. Their lead agent, Marcus, was an ex-Secret Service tactical specialist who didn’t miss a single shadow.
As Marcus pulled our black Cadillac Escalade up to Lucy’s private preschool in Preston Hollow to collect her official transfer records, a silver BMW suddenly swerved across the parking lane, blocking our path.
The driver’s door flew open. It was Alex.
His tie was undone, his hair disheveled, and his eyes bloodshot with wild, desperate fury.
“Valerie!” he roared, charging toward our vehicle. “Get out of the car right now!”
Before Alex could even reach the passenger door, Marcus and another agent stepped out, placing themselves firmly between Alex and the vehicle.
“Step back, sir,” Marcus commanded, his voice cold and immovably calm.
“Get your hands off me! Do you know who I am?! That’s my wife and daughter in that car!” Alex shouted, trying to shove past Marcus’s broad chest.
Marcus caught Alex’s wrist in a lightning-fast joint lock, forcing the multi-millionaire down to one knee on the asphalt with effortless precision.
“You are currently subject to a temporary emergency restraining order filed two hours ago in Dallas County District Court,” Marcus whispered directly into Alex’s ear. “If you step within one hundred feet of Mrs. Hernandez or her daughter again, you will spend the next thirty days in county jail. Do you understand me, Mr. Salgado?”
Alex groaned in pain, clutching his twisted wrist. “Valerie! Please! Look at what you’re doing to our family! The boys haven’t eaten all day! Santiago won’t stop crying!”
I rolled the tinted window down two inches.
“The boys have their mother, Alex,” I said calmly. “You chose Marisol seven years ago. You chose her every time you lied to my face, every time you let your mother humiliate Lucy, and every time you treated me like a hired servant. Go home and take care of the family you actually built.”
“Valerie, I’ll give you fifty million dollars!” Alex begged, tears of humiliation finally spilling down his cheeks as parents from the elite preschool gathered to watch. “Just sign the waiver! Don’t take the company away from me! My father gave his life to that firm!”
“Your father gave his life to honor,” I replied. “And his father gave the company to Lucy.”
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I rolled the window up. “Let’s go, Marcus.”
Marcus released Alex, who collapsed onto all fours in the school parking lot, surrounded by the whispers and cell phone cameras of the very Dallas elite he had spent his entire life trying to impress.
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