Chapter 6 - CHESS WITH A DEMON
I didn't panic. I stood straight by the server terminal, keeping my hand positioned near the drive as the progress bar hit seventy percent.
"Arthur Vance," I said calmly, keeping my voice steady and unbothered. "I’d say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I don't like talking to men who hide behind hitmen and greedy fools like Victor Carter."
Arthur chuckled softly, tapping his raven-headed cane against the polished concrete floor. The sound echoed ominously in the sealed room.
"Victor was a pathetic insect," Arthur sneered, stepping closer, though keeping a safe distance behind two heavy-set, armed guards who emerged from the shadows behind him. "A desperate, small-minded worm who thought fifty million dollars was real money. I merely gave him the push he needed to do what he already desired in his dark, pathetic heart."
"You used him to try to kill my baby and me," I said, my voice hardening to steel.
"I used him to eliminate the last obstacle to taking what William Harrison stole from me thirty years ago!" Arthur barked, his calm facade cracking to reveal decades of deep, toxic envy. "Harrison Global should have been mine! I built the original foundation! But William took the credit, took the glory, and took Eleanor!"
"My mother chose him because he was a good man," I countered coldly. "And you were nothing more than a parasite."
Arthur’s eyes flashed with sudden, dangerous rage. He raised his hand, gesturing to his head security guard. "Kill her. Make it look like a tragic break-in gone wrong. Her body will be found in Lake Zurich tomorrow morning."
The guard stepped forward, reaching for a silenced pistol tucked inside his shoulder holster.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I said softly, my voice filled with such absolute authority that the guard hesitated for a split second.
Arthur frowned. "She’s bluffing. Shoot her!"
"Check your phone, Arthur," I said, pointing calmly at his breast pocket.
At that exact second, Arthur's private phone began to ring frantically with a distinct, high-priority emergency ringtone.
Arthur’s brow furrowed. He pulled out the phone, seeing the caller ID: Swiss Federal Banking Authority - Director General.
He answered it, pressing the phone to his ear. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Mr. Vance," a stern, authoritative Swiss voice boomed through the speaker, loud enough for me to hear. "As of two minutes ago, the Swiss Federal Police and Interpol have seized all physical servers belonging to Corvus Holdings in Geneva. We have received verified, un-hackable proof of foreign money laundering, illegal weapons financing, and corporate assassination plots."
Arthur’s face drained of all color. "What?! That's impossible! The servers in Zurich are—"
"Your entire international network has been frozen," the Director General interrupted coldly. "Swiss police tactical units have just breached the ground floor of your Zurich building. You are surrounded. Do not attempt to flee."
Arthur stared at me, his hand shaking violently as the phone slipped from his fingers, clattering against the floor.
"How..." Arthur babbled, his eyes wide with horror. "The transfer on that terminal was only at seventy percent!"
I reached out and pulled the encrypted satellite drive from the server port, holding it up with a small, triumphant smile.
"The drive wasn't downloading data, Arthur," I revealed softly. "It was uploading everything Marcus had already gathered on you over the last five years. The terminal bar was just a timer for the Interpol raid."
The heavy steel vault doors behind us were suddenly blown inward with a deafening explosive pop. Smoke filled the air as Swiss tactical police officers flooded into the room, laser sights pinning Arthur and his two guards to the wall.
"Freeze! Drop your weapons! Hands behind your head!" the tactical commander shouted.
The two guards immediately dropped their weapons, raising their hands in total surrender. Arthur Vance fell to his knees, his raven cane falling away, his lifelong empire of shadows collapsing around him in a matter of seconds.
I stepped gracefully through the smoke, walking past the kneeling tyrant without giving him another glance.
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As I reached the doorway, Marcus and William were waiting for me, flanked by tactical officers. William rushed forward, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, protective embrace, tears of relief shining in his eyes.
"It's over, father," I whispered against his shoulder. "We won."
