Chapter 13 - Shadows of the Family
Victoria Vance was everything Julian had tried to be: brilliant, utterly cold, and completely sociopathic, but with twice the discipline. While Julian had been the loud, arrogant face of the family who sought public validation, Victoria had operated in the high-stakes world of international corporate finance, remaining invisible behind layers of corporate shielding.
"She hated me from the day Julian brought me home," Claire said softly, remembering the icy dinners at the Vance estate five years ago. "She considered my military career beneath their family's stature. When Julian went to prison, Victoria disappeared from public view. Everyone assumed she moved to London to escape the scandal."
"She didn't go to London," James said, pulling up a recent surveillance hit on his phone. "She's been living in a private estate forty miles outside the city for six months. She bought Aegis Freight through a series of offshore holding companies three weeks before you received your promotion to Battalion Commander."
"This isn't just about stolen military hardware," Claire said, the realization settling over her like iron. "This is revenge. Julian failed to destroy me, so Victoria is finishing the job. She’s using the ghost key Julian created to frame me for a massive military theft, destroying my command and putting me in federal prison while her syndicate profits from the stolen hardware."
"We go to the FBI," Marcus suggested. "We have enough for a warrant."
"No," Claire countered firmly. "If the FBI executes a raid now, Victoria’s lawyers will tie the evidence in knots for months. The IG team will arrive tomorrow, see an open federal espionage investigation involving my name, and instantly suspend my command. Suspensions in the military are fatal to a career—even if you're cleared later, the smudge never washes off."
James looked at Claire, a slow, dangerous smile touching his lips. "So we handle it tactical-style before the federal suits even know where to look."
"We need undeniable physical evidence connecting Victoria directly to the server hub inside that warehouse," Claire said. "We need to catch her team in the act of pulling the data tonight."
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"Aegis Freight's warehouse has private security," James warned, pulling up the building's blueprints. "Ex-special forces contractors. Motion sensors, thermal cameras, and encrypted communications. It’s a fortress."
Claire smiled, a sharp, lethal edge in her eyes that made James’s heart skip a beat. "James, I command an infantry battalion. A private warehouse security team isn't a fortress. It's a field exercise."
