Chapter 11 - The Unspoken Vow
Steven pulled back slightly, his professional instincts kicking in instantly, though regret flickered in his eyes. He took out the secure black phone.
"Harrington," he answered, his voice tightening.
I watched his expression shift from tenderness to guarded tension, his jaw clenching as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.
"When did this happen?" Steven asked, his tone dropping an octave. "...Understood. Keep the perimeter locked. Do not release a public statement under any circumstances."
He ended the call, slipping the phone back into his coat pocket.
"What is it?" I asked, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach.
Steven looked at me, hesitating. "Richard was being transferred from the Swiss detention facility in Bern to the federal supermax transport in Frankfurt two hours ago."
"And?"
"The armored transport was ambushed outside Basel," Steven said quietly. "Two guards were killed. Richard is gone."
The air in the room suddenly turned icy. "Gone? Escaped?"
"Not escaped," Steven said, his eyes darkening. "Extracted. The tactical team that hit the convoy didn't leave any witnesses, and they used military-grade thermite to melt the transport's engine blocks. This wasn't Richard's private contractors. Richard doesn't have the money or the connections to orchestrate an extraction of this scale anymore."
I placed my hand back over my baby, my instincts screaming. "Then who took him?"
"Whoever was really pulling Richard's strings from the beginning," Steven replied. "Richard wasn't the mastermind, Valerie. He was the puppet. And whoever is holding the strings just realized that Richard is a liability."
Steven took my hands in his, his grip firm and steady. "I have already ordered Harrington tactical units to reinforce your home, the foundation, and this building. You and this baby are going into full protective lockdown."
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"No," I said, shaking my head firmly. "I spent seven years hiding behind Richard's lies. I am not spending the rest of my life hiding in a bunker. We find out who took him, and we finish this."
***
