Chapter 6 - Shadows on the Wall
While Arthur Sterling was being processed at central booking, the fallout of his arrest sent shockwaves through the financial underworld. The Sterling Foundation’s stock plummeted ten percent in morning trading before stabilizing as news broke that Julian Sterling had taken absolute control of the conglomerate.
However, in the shadowy corners of the city, Arthur’s arrest triggered a dormant wire.
In a darkened penthouse overlooking the harbor, Clara Sterling—Arthur’s thirty-two-year-old daughter—sat surrounded by shredded documents and open duffel bags. She had watched her father’s arrest live on the news feed.
"Idiots," Clara hissed, pulling a compact semi-automatic pistol from a desk drawer and checking the magazine. "He was supposed to burn that case three years ago."
Her phone rang on the desk. She picked it up, pressing it to her ear.
"Is it done?" a raspy voice on the other end asked.
"My father is in police custody," Clara said, her voice shaking with rage. "Julian has the ledger. If the federal prosecutor reads section four, they’ll trace the Montreal shipping accounts directly to us. We’ll all go down for Richard Mercer’s murder."
"The ledger is worthless without the witness," the voice replied calmly. "Evelyn Mercer is still alive at St. Jude’s. And Julian found the child."
Clara’s eyes narrowed into slits. "The child? The scrap girl?"
"She’s the sole heir to the Mercer Logistics trust," the voice warned. "If Evelyn dies, the trust defaults to Julian as her legal guardian. But if both Evelyn and the child disappear before the trial... the federal case collapses for lack of direct testimony."
Clara picked up her coat, pulling the gun into her pocket. "Where are they?"
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"Julian moved them to his private estate in Greenwich under heavy guard," the voice said. "But my men inside the hospital staff say the child’s blood work requires a specialized treatment kit currently being transferred from the downtown clinic at 2:00 PM."
A cold, ruthless smile crossed Clara’s face. "Then we cut the line before the kit arrives."
