Chapter 16 - The True Cost Of Power
That evening, Ivan stood on the balcony of his new upstate home, watching the sunset paint the Hudson River in shades of gold and amber. Fiona was playing happily in the sprawling backyard, chasing a golden retriever they had adopted just days prior.
His cell phone buzzed on the patio railing, displaying an incoming call from an unlisted, secure corporate number. Ivan swiped to answer, pressing the phone against his ear. “Ivan speaking.”
“It’s Jessi,” her voice came through the speaker, sounding unusually tired. “I need you to come back down to headquarters tonight. There’s something in the master vault that only you and I have the security clearance to access.”
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“On my way,” Ivan said instantly, sensing the urgency in her tone. He kissed Fiona goodbye, telling her he had a brief late-night meeting at the office, and drove back down the highway toward Manhattan.
When he swiped his key card into the penthouse suite, the lights were dimmed to a soft amber glow. Jessi was sitting at her desk, staring at an old, faded photograph of herself and her late father before the accident that changed her life.
