Chapter 4 - The Counter-Strike
The black sedan tore down the coastal highway back toward Boston at eighty miles per hour, the engine roaring against the wind.
In the back seat, Claire pressed her phone frantically against her ear.
"Daniel! Talk to me—status report on the estate!"
Through the static of the secure line, Daniel’s voice came back instantly, laced with absolute urgency.
“Director! We got hit ten minutes ago. Two unknown men tried to breach the eastern security gate at the Barrington estate while Leo was playing in the greenhouse with his nanny. Our private detail intercepted them before they got within fifty yards of the house. Both suspects are secured in the basement holding room, and Leo is safe inside the panic room with his security team.”
Claire closed her eyes, letting out a ragged breath she felt like she hadn't truly drawn since walking into the Rockport mansion.
"Thank God," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly before steeling itself once more. "Listen to me very carefully, Daniel. Elena Ward isn't in witness protection. She’s been operating as Vincent's outside proxy, using his old proxy loopholes to siphon our shipping terminals. She has a satellite uplink stationed at the Rockport estate."
“Rockport?” Daniel’s voice darkened. “Shall I send an extraction team to clean out the house?”
"No," Claire said, opening her eyes, her gaze fixed fiercely on the passing scenery outside the window. "Don't send an extraction team. Send the federal financial crimes task force. I left my personal recorder running on the desk in that library. Every word Elena said about extortion, kidnapping threats, and asset siphoning is captured in crystal-clear audio."
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“Consider it done, Claire. What are your orders for you?”
"Meet me at the corporate headquarters in twenty minutes," Claire commanded, her tone returning to absolute, unflappable authority. "If Elena wants a corporate war, we’re going to give her a front-row seat to an execution."
