Chapter 6 - The Unraveling Betrayal At Forty Thousand Feet
Victoria clawed desperately at Vincent's thick wrist, her breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps.
"Vincent... please... you're hurting me!" she choked out, her sapphire blue dress twisting around her waist.
Baby Liam began to scream hysterically once again, his tiny red onesie thrashing against Vincent’s chest.
The sound of the crying child filled the narrow luxury cabin, echoing off the mahogany walls with unbearable distress.
Sarah stepped forward, her hand moving with swift, athletic precision as she grabbed Vincent’s right shoulder.
"Put her down, Vincent," Sarah commanded, her voice dropping into an icy, authoritative steel.
"If you choke her to death right now, you destroy the only witness who can put Richard Vance in prison forever."
Vincent hesitated, his chest heaving under his white shirt as the murderous rage warred with his survival instincts.
With a harsh, violent shove, he released Victoria, sending her crashing back against the leather seat cushions.
She collapsed onto her side, coughing violently while rubbing the deep red marks left on her pale neck.
"Talk, Victoria," Vincent demanded, his knuckles white as he held the screaming baby against his broad torso.
"Talk before we cross the New Jersey border, or I swear to God I will throw you out of this aircraft myself."
Victoria sobbed hysterically, her sleek dark hair coming loose from its tight bun and falling across her tear-stained face.
"It was Richard's idea!" Victoria wept, her voice high-pitched and completely shattered.
"He said your father's trust fund had a strict bloodline clause that required a male heir by your thirty-fifth birthday!"
"If you didn't produce a son by next month, the entire forty million dollars would revert to the charitable trust!"
Vincent stood frozen, the horrifying financial trap laid out by his own inner circle finally coming into focus.
"You couldn't conceive..." Vincent realized softly, his voice trembling with a terrifying mix of sorrow and rage.
"So you and Richard hired a surrogate in Vermont... and passed the boy off as our natural-born child."
"I did it for us, Vincent!" Victoria cried out, reaching up to touch his hand with a desperate, pathetic gesture.
"I did it so we wouldn't lose the empire your grandfather built! I loved you!"
"You didn't do it for me," Vincent spat, stepping back from her touch as if she were infected with poison.
"You did it so Richard could control the trust fund through the child once you had me eliminated."
Sarah watched the domestic collapse with cool, detached observation, her blonde hair catching the overhead lights.
"Richard Vance didn't just want the trust fund, Vincent," Sarah interjected, drawing both of their eyes back to her.
"He also arranged for a specialized team of private contractors to meet this jet when we land at Teterboro."
"They aren't here to help you escape the FBI," Sarah added, holding up her phone as a tactical map flashed on screen.
"They're under explicit orders from Richard to execute you on the tarmac and secure the infant."
Vincent let out a dark, booming laugh that echoed maniacally through the pressurized cabin space.
His terrifying mafia demeanor returned in full force, his eyes burning with an unholy, lethal fire.
"Richard thinks he can ambush me on my own home turf?" Vincent growled, his face twisting into a terrifying smile.
He looked down at baby Liam, whose crying had softened into small, exhausted whimpers against his chest.
"Sarah," Vincent said, turning to face her directly with a look of absolute, ruthless determination.
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"You want your sister's killer... and I want the man who tried to steal my life."
"It seems we have a mutually beneficial agreement for the next thirty minutes."
