The Cleanup

At first, he was shocked. But that quickly turned into excitement. If things went as expected, he might have just saved himself two million dollars.

He knew the SWAT team had the place surrounded, so when he woke up, he stayed quiet.

But then he overheard the SWAT captain talking to Celeste, and that's when the confusion set in. This wasn't playing out the way he had imagined.

Still, with powerful connections backing him, he sat up and threw out a few threats, assuming they'd hesitate.

Instead, he got a brutal kick to the neck.

From the way everyone looked at him, it was clear— even if he survived, he'd probably end up paralyzed for life.

Outside, ambulances lined up in a steady stream, operating like a factory assembly line. One after another, the injured were loaded up and driven away.

Finally, once the last stretcher was carried out, the SWAT team wrapped up, lifting the lockdown.

Only then did Lyla and Celia step inside.