Chapter 23
That evening, as the autumn rain began to tap gently against the windows of the Vance estate, peace finally settled over the household.
Lily was fast asleep in her bed, clutching her favorite stuffed animal with a peaceful expression on her face.
Steven and Elizabeth stood together by the living room window, watching the city lights shimmer through the wet glass.
Suddenly, Steven's phone buzzed on the mahogany table with an incoming alert from an unknown satellite frequency.
He picked it up and tapped the screen to open an encrypted video file attached to a blank email message.
The video showed a dimly lit boardroom in Manhattan, where a faceless man sat at the head of a massive mahogany table.
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A single hand pushed a silver chess piece across the board toward the camera as the video played in absolute silence.
Attached to the file was a chilling final message written in stark white text: "Your move, Captain Vance."
