The Billionaire's Mistake (Anya and Daniel)
MISTAKE 84

Chapter 84: A Discussion

The new arrivals moved with military precision, laying down suppressing fire and advancing on the attackers' positions. In a matter of minutes, the tide of the battle had turned. One of the men in tactical gear approached Matthias. "Mr. Reeds? We're here to extract you. Come with us, now!'

Still in shock, Mathias nodded darkly when he realized Daniel already had his men there.

He and Tony were quickly ushered into one of the SUVs, which peeled away from the docks before Mathias could even catch his breath.

"Boss, what's happening?" Tony asked as they sped through the city streets. "Who are these guys?"

Mathias shook his head, still trying to process the events of the last few minutes. "They work

for Daniel Shaw. He... he wants to talk."

Tony's eyes widened. "Daniel Shaw? The Shaw heir? Boss, this is bad. Real bad."

"You think I don't know that?" Matthew snapped, "He shared our location and sabotaged the deal. I know this. Still, he could have let us die there, but he wants to talk. I will hear him out."

The rest of the ride passed in tense silence. Finally, the SUV pulled up to a towering skyscraper in the heart of the city.

The man in the front passenger seat turned to face them. "Mr. Reeds, you're to go to the roof. Mr. Shaw will meet you there."

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The. The man glanced at Tony, who was about to get out of the car too..

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"Alone," he said, and Matthias paused. He had no choice. He and Tony were the only ones that escaped. The rest of his men were still back at the docks.

Mathias nodded, steeling himself for whatever was to come. As he stepped out of the vehicle, he turned to Tony. "Stay here. If... if I'm not back in an hour, you know what to do." Tony nodded grimly. "Be careful, boss."

The elevator ride to the roof felt like an eternity. When the doors finally opened, Mathias stepped out into the cool night air. The city sprawled out below him, a glittering tapestry of lights. Minutes ticked by. Then hours. Daniel didn't show.

Just as Matthew was considering making a break for it, the elevator dinged. He spun around, hand reaching for his gun, but it was just one of Daniel's men.

"Mr. Reeds," the man said, holding out a phone. "Call for you."

Mathias took the phone warily. "Hello?"

"Mathias," Daniel's voice came through, as calm as ever. "I trust you're enjoying the view."

"Where are you?" Mathias demanded. "You said we'd talk face to face."

"Change of plans," Daniel replied. "I hope you understand. Can't be too careful these days."

Chapter 24 A Diusujoon.

Anger flared in Mathias's chest. "You lured me here under false pretenses. I'm your hostage now, is that it?"

Daniel's laugh was cold. "Hostage is such an ugly word, Mathias. Let's call it... a forced negotiation."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Mathias growled. "I'm the head of the Dark Hands. Do you have an

idea what the consequences of your actions will be?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, to Mathias's surprise, Daniel began to laugh. Not a chuckle, but a full-bodied laugh that seemed to echo across the phone line.

oh,

Mathias," Daniel said, his voice filled with amusement. "We both know that's not true. You're not the true head of the Dark Hands. You're just a very convincing front man.'

Matthew felt the blood drain from his face. How could Daniel know that? Nobody knew that,

The steady beep of medical equipment filled the private hospital wing as Wendy Shaw sat beside her daughter-in-law's bed. Anya lay motionless, her chest rising and falling with each breath assisted by the ventilator. Daniel's brother, Jason, stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the area out of habit.

"Any change, Mom?" He asked, moving to stand at the foot of the bed.

Wendy shook her head. "No, nothing yet. But the doctors say we should keep talking to her."

Before Jason could respond, a muffled thud echoed from somewhere down the hallway. His head snapped toward the sound, body tensing.

Chap 84: A Ciscussion II

"What was that?" Wendy asked, sitting up straighter.

Jason held up a hand for silence, straining to listen. Suddenly, the unmistakable pop of gunfire erupted.

"Damn!" Jason cursed, drawing his weapon. "Stay inside!"

Wendy moved quickly as Jason stepped forward.

"We are under attack," he said as he looked out the door to the rows of men guarding outside.

There was a crash on the other side of the door. Jason steadied himself and pulled his gun.

Wendy took a deep breath and sat absolutely still.

Jason stood behind his men, staring at the entrance of the ward. They had come as Daniel had suspected.

"Jason!" Wendy called out. "Jason, be careful!"

"You stay inside with Anya," Jason answered and stepped out. His aim was to make sure they do not get close enough to the hospital room.

He stepped out and joined these men. His focus was entirely on the failing door at the end of the hallway.

Another crash, and the lock gave way. The door burst open, and chaos erupted.

Jason fired immediately, dropping the first man through the door. But more followed, forcing

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him to dive for cover behind a medical cart.

Jason was a blur of motion, firing, ducking, and reloading. But he was outnumbered, and the attackers were pushing further into the hall. Jason had been pushed back into the room. "Jason!" Wendy cried out as a bullet grazed her son's arm.

Jason grunted in pain but kept firing. "I'm okay, Mom. Stay down!"

The wall of men was not going anywhere. Jason locked the door behind him as his men created a barricade.

Something was off about this fight. There were a lot of attackers but they were oddly inexperienced. This through Jason off.

Soon the fighting started to die down, and Jason returned to the hospital room.

When he came in and saw that the room wall had been pierced by a bullet, he panicked.

"Mom!" Jason shouted, his voice raw with fear and anger.

ger. "Are you hit?"

Wendy shook her head, seated absolutely still as though nothing had happened. One could tell this was a normal occurrence for her.

Jason's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then answered with his free hand.

"Grandfather," he said, his voice calm. "We're under attack at the hospital."

Ray Shaw's gravelly voice came through. "How bad is it, boy?"

Chapté 84 & Discussion

"Odd," Jason grunted, ducking as a spray of bullets shattered the window behind him. "There are a lot of them, but oddly, they look inexperienced. Almost as though they sent newborns." "Don't let your guard down because of that. Reinforcements are on their way," Ray assured him. "Hold the line, Jason. Protect your and Anya."

"Yes, sir," Jason replied. He ended the call and tossed the phone aside, focusing all his attention on the fight.

The battle raged on but ended very quickly. This threw Jason off. How was this possible? There were more enemies outside, but they were getting killed off quickly.

"Mom," he called out during a brief lull. "How's Anya?"

Wendy checked the monitors, her hand never leaving her daughter-in-law's. "She's stable, dear. The machines are still working."

Jason nodded grimly, then turned back to the door as another wave of attackers poured in.

He met them with a hail of gunfire, his face turning suspicious as time went on.

The fight seemed to stretch on for hours, though in reality, it was probably only minutes.

Soon, the sounds of gunfire gradually died down as Jason and his men successfully repelled the attackers.

The hospital wing returned to silence.

Jason, his arm stained with sweat and blood from a minor graze, made his way to Anya's

Chlapy 24 A Discussion

room. He pushed open the door, replaceing his mother, Wendy, still at Anya's bedside.