FROM THE STREETS TO HIS THRONE: THE TYCOON’S REDEMPTION AND THE OUTCAST’S REVENGE

At Hangar 4 of the Kenneth Kaunda International private terminal, rain lashed against the sleek white fuselage of a Gulfstream G650.

Vivienne Vance stood at the foot of the airstair, wearing a black trench coat, clutching Tando wrapped in a blanket. The toddler was crying uncontrollably, calling out for his mother.

"Shut that brat up!" Vivienne snapped at one of her hired mercenaries. "Get the engines spooling! We take off the second the tower clears us!"

"Tower is unresponsive, Ms. Vance," the pilot called down from the cockpit window. "The entire airfield grid just went into emergency lockdown!"

Suddenly, the heavy metal gates of the hangar compound were obliterated as an armored SUV smashed through at eighty miles per hour, followed by four tactical vehicles.

Tires screeched on the wet tarmac, boxing in the jet from all angles. High-intensity floodlights snapped on, bathing Vivienne and her mercenaries in blinding white light.

"Step away from the child!" Cairo’s voice boomed over an external megaphone as he and his security force stepped out, weapons drawn and aimed with lethal precision.

Vivienne panicked. She pulled a snub-nosed revolver from her coat pocket, pressing the cold barrel directly against the blanket wrapping little Tando.

"Stay back!" Vivienne shrieked, her sanity fraying under the blinding lights. "All of you, drop your weapons or I swear I’ll pull this trigger! Cairo, tell them to back off and let my plane take off!"

Cairo froze, his heart in his throat. His team lowered their weapon sights slightly, terrified of provoking the unstable heiress.

In that agonizing second of standoff, a shadow moved behind the aircraft fuel truck.

Zola had flanked the hangar during the breach. While all eyes were on Cairo, she moved silently across the rain-soaked tarmac, stepping out from the darkness just six feet behind Vivienne.

"Vivienne," Zola’s voice rang out, quiet and deadly steady.

Vivienne gasped, instinctively turning her head toward the sound.

That split-second distraction was all Zola needed.

With the explosive ferocity of a mother defending her cub, Zola lunged forward. She grabbed Vivienne’s gun wrist, twisting it upward with all her strength.

A gunshot cracked into the stormy sky.

Zola slammed her elbow into Vivienne’s jaw, ripping Tando out of the heiress’s grip with her left arm while sweeping Vivienne’s legs out from under her. Vivienne crashed hard onto the concrete, the gun skittering across the wet tarmac into a puddle.

Cairo’s tactical team swarmed, pinning the mercenaries to the ground within seconds.

Zola dropped to her knees in the pouring rain, pulling Tando tightly against her chest. "I’ve got you, baby. Mama’s here. Mama’s here."

Tando buried his face into her neck, his small arms locking around her as he sobbed with relief.

Vivienne, pinned under the boot of a security officer, spat blood and glared at Zola with pure venom. "You think you won, you market peasant? Edward will never let you have Cairo! He will destroy you both!"

Cairo walked over, picking up Vivienne’s discarded weapon and ejecting the magazine.