Chapter 22
'Did you really think Arthur was the top of the pyramid, Clara?' the message read.
'Your father was merely our regional executor for the tri-state area.'
'The real syndicate that controls Vance Enterprises operates out of London and Geneva.'
'And now that you've put Arthur in a cell, you have inherited his three-billion-dollar debt to us.'
'We are giving you forty-eight hours to deliver the master encryption keys to the Zurich vault.'
'If you refuse, your newborn child will be born inside a federal cage.'
'Welcome to the real board of directors, Mrs. Vance.'
Clara stared at the glowing phone screen, her heart hammering against her ribs as a new shadow fell over her life.
She slowly touched her baby bump, feeling the gentle kick of her unborn child against her palm.
She looked down at the encrypted hard drive sitting on her desk, realizing the war was far from over.
She had defeated her husband, her mother-in-law, her uncle, and her billionaire father...
But the true masters of the global syndicate were finally stepping out from the dark.
She reached for her desk phone, dialing an unlisted international number that she had hidden inside her mother's old diary.
As the line connected, a deep, raspy voice answered from half a world away in Switzerland.
"I was wondering when you would call, Clara," the mysterious voice whispered through the receiver.
"Your father kept you hidden for twenty-five years... but now it's time for you to meet your real mother."
May you like
Clara's breath caught in her throat as the room seemed to spin around her.
Her mother hadn't died in childbirth twenty-five years ago... she was alive and leading the syndicate.
