The Billionaire's Mistake (Anya and Daniel)
MISTAKE 139

Chapter 139: A back and forth

Anya's mind raced. "Danger? What kind of danger? Where's Daniel?"

Corvino shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't have all the details. What I do know is that we need to move quickly. Is your daughter here?"

"She's upstairs," Anya said, still not sure if to trust him. She had guards. Why did she have to leave and with Henry too? "But we're not going anywhere until I speak to my husband." For a moment, Corvino looked like he might argue, but then he nodded. "Of course. Please make the call. But I urge you to be quick about it.

With trembling fingers, Anya pulled out her cell phone and dialed Daniel's private number. Each ring seemed to last an eternity until finally, his gruff voice came through the speaker. "Baby? Are you okay?"

The familiar sound of his voice calmed her down. "Daniel, there are men here. They say they're from Justin and that we're in danger. They want to take us away."

There was a beat of sounds of people talking on the other end, and then Daniel's voice came back, tight with tension. "Listen to me carefully, baby. You need to go with them. Take Henry and leave first. Don't ask questions; just go. Do you understand?" "Daniel, what's happening? Where are you? Is it the president?"

"There's no time to explain; they will bring you to me," he said.

The line went dead, leaving Anya staring at her phone in shock. She looked up at Corvino, who was watching her intently.

"Well?" he asked.

Anya took a deep breath, steeling herself. "We'll go with you. But I need to get my daughter."

Corvino nodded, visibly relieved. "Of course. But please, be quick about it. We don't have much time."

The next few minutes passed in a blur. Anya called for Henry, trying to keep her voice steady as she explained that they were going on a surprise trip.

The little was becoming harder to deceive each day, so it took a while to have him follow. Anyal had not thought of packing at first, but Henry kept asking about their luggage, so she did.

As Anya threw some clothes randomly into a bag, her mind whirled with questions. But unlike when she was ignorant, a lot of her questions had answers now.

She could guess that the president was trying to get to her. Whoever got to her got to Daniel. She had come to understand that now.

Corvino and his team moved out and took Anya and Henry through the house and out onto the back lawn, where a sleek black helicopter was waiting on the helipad.

"There had better be toys where we are going?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

Anya managed a smile, squeezing her nephew's hand. "Why won't there be fun things? Why would we go then?"

As they approached the helicopter, Anya could not help asking, "Where is Daniel?"

Corvino leaned in close to to

Anya. "Mrs. Shaw, we do not know this. We were extract you two quickly. We're here to keep you safe."

Anya met his gaze. "That means they are coming for me, right?." She asked, and he nodded,

"That means they are coming for me, righ confirming her suspicion.

With that, she allowed herself and Henry to be helped into the helicopter. As the door slid shut and the aircraft lifted off, Anya caught one last glimpse of the Rose mansion growing smaller below them.

She would be lying if she said she was not scared.

Less than ten minutes after the helicopter disappeared into the darkening sky, a convoy of dark vehicles pulled up to the gates of the Rose mansion.

Men in dark suits and earpieces poured out, their movements precise and coordinated. It was clear they were well trained.

Special Agent Derek Hawkins stepped out of the lead vehicle, his keen eyes scanning the property. Something felt off. The mansion looked too quiet, too still.

As they approached the front door, it swung open to reveal the butler's face, a mask of polite. confusion

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" He asked, his accent thick but still clear.

Hawkins flashed his badge. "Intelligence. We're here to speak with Anya Shaw."

The butler's expression didn't change, but Hawkins caught the slightest twitch of his left eye.

A bark and forth

"I'm afraid the Signora is not at home at the moment."

Hawkins frowned. Their intel had placed Anya at the mansion less than an hour ago. "Where is she?"

"The Signora decided to take a trip," Giovanni replied smoothly. "She left for holiday long ago.

"How long?" the agent asked.

"Long," the butler answered..

Hawkins exchanged a look with his partner, Agent Mary. They both knew what this meant. Somehow, the Shaw family had gotten wind of their operation and moved Anya before they could get to her. "We're going to need to take a look around," Hawkins said, his tone making it clear this wasn't a request.

00

The butler hesitated for just a moment before stepping aside. "Of course. Please, come in."

As the agents spread out through the mansion, Hawkins couldn't shake the feeling that they'd just missed her by a hair. Anya Shaw was their best chance at getting to Daniel; without her, Daniel Shaw would not bend.

And now she was in the wind.

"Sir," Agent Chen called from the living room. "You're going to want to see this."

Hawkins made his way over, replaceing Chen crouched by a mess of papers on an expensive-looking rug.

"Looks like someone left in a hurry," Chen said, gesturing to the scattered home workbook." They were just here. They can't have been gone more than an hour."

Hawkins ran a hand through his short-cropped hair in frustration. "They knew we were coming. But how?" He asked.

As if in answer, a cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Hawkins picked it up and looked through. The screen showed a text message from one of his contacts. The text read: "Several Shaw helicopters have been seen flying around the city."

Hawkins felt a chill run down his spine. This wasn't just a lucky escape. This was a coordinated operation. It was probably done by an extraction team. They even put up decoys. "Chen," he called out, his voice tight. "Get on the horn to air traffic control. I want to know where every private flight and helicopter that's taken off from this area in the last hour lands." As Chen hurried to make the call, Hawkins stared out the window at the sprawling grounds of the Rose mansion.

The stat

call.

in the opulent study of the Rose mansion and took out his phone to make a

The room still held traces of Anya Shaw's presence, a reminder that they had missed her by a hair.

"Director," Hawkins said, his voice tense. "I'm afraid I have bad news. Anya Shaw is gone."

There was a heavy silence on the other end of the line before the Director of Intelligence responded, his voice tight with barely containing frustration. "Explain, Hawkins. How did we lose her?"

back and forth

He could tell the president would not like the constant failure.

Hawkins took a deep breath. "Sir, it appears the shaw family moved her before we arrived. We're still piecing together the details, but it looks like they had some kind of advance warning."

"Damn it," Reeves muttered. "This is a major setback, Hawkins. Do you understand the implications of this failure?"

"Yes, sir," Hawkins replied, his jaw clenched. He was the one who led the raid. It did not look good on him. "We're doing everything we can to track her down. We've got teams checking all possible escape routes and❞ "Save it," Reeves cut him off. "I need to inform the President immediately. This isn't going to go over well. Continue your search and report any replaceings directly to me. Is that clear?"