Chapter 4 - The Tarmac at Fulton County
The rain began to fall in heavy, icy sheets as my black Suburban tore through the perimeter gates of Fulton County Airport, following Knox’s tactical vehicle.
Up ahead, a sleek Gulfstream IV sat illuminated under the harsh yellow floodlights of Hangar 4. A private ambulance was parked near the rear air-stairs, its rear doors wide open.
"Block the nose gear!" I shouted to my driver.
The Suburban skidded across the slick tarmac, spinning sideways and coming to a halt less than ten feet from the jet's front tires, completely blocking its taxi route.
I kicked open the passenger door and stepped out into the pouring rain, pulling my dark wool coat around my shoulders. Knox and three armed guards from Vanguard Tactical stepped out behind me, their weapons drawn and low.
From the top of the air-stairs, Vanessa Vale looked down at us, her silk dress plastered against her skin by the wind and rain. She didn't look like a glamorous heiress anymore. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and wild with panic.
"Mason!" she shrieked over the roar of the jet engines. "Get your cars out of the way! You have no right to stop us!"
"Where is she, Vanessa?" I yelled back, stepping toward the stairs.
A woman stepped out from the interior of the plane, pushing past the flight attendant. She wore a long black coat and held a silver cane in her right hand. Her silver hair was drawn back into a tight, severe bun.
Evelyn Vale.
On her left hand, the sapphire ring caught the yellow floodlights.
"Hello, Mason," Evelyn said, her voice amplified by the quiet tarmac. "I wondered how long it would take your arrogant mind to notice my ring."
"You tried to kill my wife," I said, taking another step up the stairs. "She had nothing to do with Vale Steel. She never touched your family."
"She took everything that was supposed to belong to my daughter!" Evelyn screamed, her face contorting into a mask of pure hatred. "You destroyed my husband! You took our name, our money, our position! Vanessa was supposed to marry a billionaire, not sit in the gallery like a beggar while your little nursing student played lady of the manor!"
"Your husband destroyed himself with fraud, Evelyn," I said, reaching the middle platform of the air-stairs. "And Claire worked alongside me when I didn't have a dime to my name. She built Sloane Infrastructure just as much as I did."
"She's dying right now!" Evelyn laughed, a shrill, broken sound that sent chills down my spine. "That toxin was formulated in my husband's private lab fifteen years ago! There is no antidote, Mason! The blood filtration will only buy her a few hours! By morning, her liver and heart will liquefy!"
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My chest went cold. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Evelyn smiled coldly, pulling a small glass vial from her coat pocket—a vial filled with a clear, dark blue liquid. "My husband kept the neutralizing agent in his personal vault. This is the only sample in existence. And if you take one more step, Mason, I'll drop it onto the concrete."
