Chapter 17
The gala was a massive success, raising over fifty million dollars for federal programs supporting victims of domestic corporate financial abuse. Sarah walked back to her private suite on the top floor of the hotel, her security detail flanking her with quiet precision.
She unclasped her heavy diamond necklace, letting it drop onto the velvet vanity table with a soft, metallic clink. The sound triggered a sudden, vivid flashback to the wedding ring hitting the stone floor, a lifetime of pain compressed into one second.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror, admiring the fierce, unbroken woman who stared back with cold, unwavering clarity. Her encrypted satellite phone, hidden inside a secure compartment of her designer clutch, suddenly vibrated with a sharp, urgent buzz.
She pulled the device out, frowning slightly as she noticed the incoming transmission was routed through a highly classified offshore server. Only three people in the entire world possessed the encryption keys to bypass her personal security firewall directly.
May you like
She tapped the screen to answer, holding the device to her ear while her micro-expressions shifted into high-alert tactical readiness. "Speak," Sarah commanded, her voice dropping into the dangerously steady, quiet tone she reserved exclusively for war.
"Madam Vance, we have a critical situation; Richard was brutally attacked in the prison yard thirty minutes ago," Agent Harrison's voice reported.
