Chapter 24
By noon, a private luxury yacht flying a neutral flag anchored two miles off the coast of Grand Haven.
I stood on Pier 9, wearing a sleek black trench coat against the ocean spray, watching the vessel through binoculars.
Standing on the top deck of the yacht was a tall man in a dark tailored coat, staring back at the resort through his own glasses.
He raised a high-powered signal flare, firing a single green trail of smoke high into the pale blue sky.
Green smoke was the universal maritime signal for a formal request to negotiate terms of surrender.
My phone chimed in my coat pocket; it was a text message from the unlisted satellite terminal on the yacht.
“We are waiting on the water, Amelia Sterling. Step aboard, or we begin the foreclosure on your sister at midnight.”
I looked back at the grand resort towering over the cliffs, then out at the dark silhouette of the yacht on the horizon.
Charlotte walked up behind me on the dock, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“You aren't going out there alone, Amelia,” Charlotte stated firmly.
“I’m not going out there to surrender, Charlotte,” I answered, pulling a second silver drive from my coat.
“I’m going out there to hand them the evidence that will destroy their entire European banking charter.”
I stepped onto the deck of my private speed boat, looking at my sister with absolute, calm confidence.
“If I’m not back by four o’clock, Charlotte…”
“Release Vault 10.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened in sheer shock. “Vault 10? Amelia, that contains—”
“It contains everything my father hid from the entire world,” I interrupted smoothly, starting the boat’s high-powered engine.
“And it’s time the world learned the whole truth.”
The speedboat launched forward, cutting through the waves at fifty knots, heading directly toward the mysterious yacht.
Behind me, the sun began to dip behind the grand towers of Grand Haven Resort.
May you like
Ahead lay an international web of deceit, danger, and untold power waiting in the open sea.
I squeezed the throttle, speeding into the unknown, ready to face whatever lay beyond the horizon.
