Chapter 21 - The Truth in the Ledger
My eyes scanned the handwritten lines, each word sinking like lead into my chest.
*Victoria was never your stepmother out of love, Emily. She was placed in our house by the syndicate that tried to seize Northstar’s sovereign supply routes. When I realized they intended to poison our legacy, I staged my own terminal decline. The terminal illness, the sudden collapse—it was all engineered with Marcus’s father to ensure the bearer shares remained tied to an offshore bloodline trust that could only be activated by you, on foot, on sovereign Swiss soil.*
*They humiliated you at the airport because they were terrified of you. They thought that by stripping your dignity, you would run away and sign over the inheritance out of despair. But I built you from stronger steel.*
*The terminal console in front of you controls the global master override for every private jet, cargo hangar, and corporate account belonging to the Northstar network. Insert the key into the console, and take back what was stolen.*
A sudden clatter of heavy steel reverberated from the service tunnel behind us.
"We have company," Marcus hissed, dropping to one knee behind a server pillar, his rifle raised.
Through the security monitors mounted above the terminal, I saw a tactical squad dressed in unmarked urban camouflage breaching the outer blast door with industrial thermal lances. Leading them, dressed in a pristine white cashmere coat over bulletproof tactical gear, was Victoria herself.
Beside her, holding an electronic detonation transmitter, was none other than the Chairman of the Swiss Aviation Board.
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"You really didn't think I’d let you reach the console alone, did you, Emily?" Victoria’s voice crackled through the facility's intercom speakers, dripping with triumphant venom. "You led us right to the door. Open the vault, step away from the terminal, or I’ll blow the air intake valves and suffocate you like rats."
***
