Chapter 15
She grabbed her encrypted satellite phone from the mahogany desk and hurried down the private hallway to check on her mother, whose bedroom was located in the secure east wing. To her absolute horror, the heavy oak door to her mother's room was standing wide open, and the interior was completely empty, with the balcony glass doors shattered outward. A cold autumn wind whipped through the bedroom, carrying with it a faint, unmistakable scent of military-grade tactical smoke and ozone. On top of her mother's pristine white vanity table sat a single, physical object—a black, burner-style smartphone blinking with an incoming video call.
Chloe’s chest tightened with a suffocating wave of pure terror and blinding rage, her hands trembling slightly as she picked up the blinking device from the wood surface. She swiped the screen to accept the call, bringing the phone up to her ear while keeping her eyes locked on the shattered balcony doors overlooking the dark Manhattan street below. A deep, heavily distorted mechanical voice echoed through the encrypted speaker, sounding like grinding metal mixed with a synthesized human whisper. "If you want to see your mother alive again, Ms. Vance, you will wipe the federal server and hand over the Geneva access keys by midnight," the voice demanded coldly.
