New beginning: Billionaire love story

The warehouse was pitch dark, and Claire's heartbeat thundered in her ears. She tensed as the cold grip tightened around her wrist. On instinct, she swung her free hand hard, and the satisfying crack of her palm meeting someone's face echoed through the room. SMACK!

"Ah, Claire, it's me!" a familiar voice hissed, followed by a sharp beam of light aimed at his own face. Adrian squinted under the flashlight's glare, rubbing his cheek.

A flashlight clicked on, illuminating the face of none other than Adrian. His expression was a mix of surprise and mild annoyance, his free hand rubbing his cheek where her slap had landed.noveldrama

Claire's eyes widened in shock. "Adrian?! What are you doing here?" she whispered harshly.

Adrian gave her a lopsided grin despite the sting on his face. "What does it look like? I'm here to save you."

"Save me?" Claire frowned, half incredulous and half touched. She hadn't expected Adrian to come charging in himself, not when this kind of situation wasn't exactly his comfort zone.

Adrian nodded, turning off the flashlight and tugging her gently by the wrist. "Yeah, yeah. You can ask tons of questions later, but right now we need to leave before they come back and end up catching us both."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the warehouse, chaos was brewing. Eligos stood in the darkness, his frustration barely contained as he barked orders into his radio.

"What the hell is going on?! Get the power back on! And secure every exit-now! I don't want her slipping through our fingers," he snapped, his voice sharp enough to make even his most seasoned men jump. One of his subordinates hesitated. "Sir, we're not sure="

"Just do it! Then secure the place. Peterson must not escape! Spread out, now." Eligos cut him off, storming toward the warehouse's main floor. Sitting idle in the dark wasn't his style, and if Claire Peterson thought she could just waltz out of his trap, she had another thing coming.

The men scrambled to obey, their footsteps echoing as they hurried into action. Eligos grabbed a flashlight himself and followed, his usually calm demeanor replaced with visible frustration.

Outside the warehouse, Adrian and Claire emerged into the cool night air. Claire's eyes darted around, and she spotted a car not far from the building.

"There!" Adrian whispered, pointing to the vehicle. "Get in!"

Claire didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted toward the car, threw open the passenger door, and slid in. To her surprise, Matthew was behind the wheel, his hands already gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Finally, you guys came. We need to hurry before they realize Claire is missing!"

"Matthew?!" Claire asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. "How did you find me?"

Matthew glanced at her briefly, his expression tense. "Explanations later. Right now, we need to get the hell out of here."

Before Claire could press further, the roar of engines filled the air. She turned her head and spotted two motorcycles speeding toward them from the warehouse's direction.

"Go, go, go!" Adrian shouted, slamming the door shut just as Matthew floored the gas pedal. The car lurched forward, throwing Adrian back against his seat, his seatbelt still undone.

"For the love of-seatbelt!" Adrian shouted, fumbling to click it into place as the car picked up speed.

Claire twisted in her seat to watch the motorcycles gaining on them. "They're coming. And they don't look like they just want to wave us off. This Eligos guy is out of his mind!"

Adrian has a look of confusion on his face. "Wait, who's Eligos?" but none of them answer his question as they are too focus on the current situation.

"No kidding," Matthew muttered, his focus laser-sharp on the road ahead. "Just hang on tightly."

"Wait, I have a question," Claire said, her voice rising above the noise. "How did you even know I was kidnapped?"

"Your driver," Matthew answered without missing a beat. "He called me after you disappeared. Said some guys forced him to stop and took you." "And what about him?" Claire asked, nodding toward Adrian in the back seat.

"I called him," Matthew replied. "and tell him that you are kidnapped."

Before Claire could respond, a loud bang rang out. A bullet grazed the car, making all three of them duck instinctively.

"They're shooting at us?!" Adrian shouted, his voice tinged with panic.

Claire's expression darkened. "Matthew, focus on driving," she said firmly. "I'll handle this."

"Wait, what?!" Adrian asked, his eyes widening in alarm. "What do you mean, you'll handle it?"

Claire didn't answer. Instead, she

opened the glove compartment and pulled out a sleek black case. Opening it, she revealed a disassembled handgun, which she began piecing together witho practiced ease.

Adrian's jaw dropped. "Is that a gun?!"

Claire smirked as she loaded the weapon, the sharp click of the magazine sliding into place punctuating her confidence. "Just wait and see."

Matthew, glancing at her in the rearview mirror, grinned. "I told you she'd be fine."

Rolling down the window, Claire

leaned out and took aim, her movements steady despite the speed of the car and the bouncing road beneath them. The

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motorcycles zigzagged to avoid her

line of fire, their riders firing shots of their own.

Claire muttered under her breath as she adjusted her aim. The motorcycles' agility made them harder targets than she'd anticipated.

Switching tactics, Claire climbed halfway out the window, positioning herself for a clearer shot. Adrian, still trying to process what he was seeing, shouted, "You're insane! Get back inside!"

Ignoring him, Claire narrowed her eyes and focused on the nearest bike's wheel. She exhaled, steadied her hand, and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The bullet struck true, and the motorcycle veered wildly off course, its rider losing control and skidding into the woods.

"Yes!" Claire exclaimed, but her victory was short-lived. The remaining motorcyclist fired a shot that grazed her arm. She winced, biting back a cry of pain as she clutched her bleeding arm. Adrian's face turned pale. "Claire! You're hit!"

"It's just a scratch," Claire said through gritted teeth, though the pain was evident in her voice.

Back at the warehouse, Eligos was seething as he listened to the frantic radio chatter from his men.

"She's getting away!" one of them shouted.

"Not if I can help it," Eligos growled, storming toward his own vehicle. His men followed, their determination fueled by their boss's fury.

"Don't let her escape!" Eligos barked as they roared onto the road, joining the pursuit.

The chase continued and Matthew swerved the car professionally and Claire still tried to aim at the motorcycle while Adrian is shocked but also a mixture of awe seeing his girlfriend on action. Matthew's voice cut through the chaos. "We need to shake this guy off before he calls for backup!"

"I'm on it," Claire said, forcing herself to focus despite the throbbing in her arm.

Climbing back into the car, she

adjusted her position and leaned out the window.again. The remaining motorcyclist was closing in, his

weapon aimed directly at themi net'

Claire steadied herself, blocking out the pain and the noise around her.

"Come on, come on..." she whispered, aiming for the front tire.