Chapter 12 - The Turning Tide
The two bank guards stopped dead in their tracks, their guns raised but trembling. Julian stood tall, unarmed, his hands held high in plain view, his eyes locked onto the security cameras overhead.
""Every camera in this bank is broadcasting live to the federal district attorney’s office!"" Julian announced, his voice echoing through the vaulted ceiling. ""Arthur, you tell these men what happens to private security contractors who assist in the unauthorized confiscation of assets protected by a federal seal!""
Arthur Vance stumbled out of the glass office, his hands raised in surrender, sweat pouring down his temples. ""Hold your fire! Don't shoot! Lower your weapons!""
""Arthur, what are you doing?!"" Victoria screamed, rushing out behind him, her face twisted with hysteria. ""He's a wanted felon! He kidnapped his daughter! Shoot him!""
""Shut up, Victoria!"" Arthur hissed, terrified. ""He brought the federal court order! If we touch that box, we are accomplices to a federal racketeering charge!""
From the entrance of the bank, heavy boot-steps pounded against the marble. A dozen federal agents in windbreakers, led by a stern woman with steel-gray hair, poured through the revolving doors with tactical rifles raised.
""Federal agents! Nobody move! Hands where we can see them!""
Julian didn't flinch. He slowly lowered his hands and turned toward the lead agent. ""Special Agent Martinez. It’s been three years.""
Agent Martinez looked at Julian, then down at the bloody bruise on his jaw, and finally toward Victoria, who was frantically backing toward the vault corridor.
""You took your sweet time, Julian,"" Martinez said coldly, motioning for her agents to secure the perimeter. ""We’ve been tracking your mother’s shell corporations for eighteen months, but we couldn't pierce the trust without the original documents.""
""They're in that room,"" Julian pointed at the glass office. ""Along with the offshore accounts that funded the contract hit on my wife.""
Victoria shrieked like a wounded animal, turning to bolt down the private hallway toward the vault elevators. But she didn't get five steps before two federal agents pinned her violently against the marble wall, slapping steel handcuffs onto her wrists.
""Julian, you bastard!"" she screamed, her polished facade completely shattering. ""Eleanor will destroy you! She’ll bury you! You'll never see that little brat again!""
Julian walked over to her, his gaze looking right through her as if she were made of thin glass. ""My daughter has a name. It’s Lily. And you will spend the rest of your youth behind iron bars thinking about what you did to her.""
He turned back to Martinez. ""Where is Eleanor?""
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Martinez’s expression turned grim. ""She left the Vance estate an hour ago. Private helicopter bound for her private airstrip in the north. If she crosses international airspace, we lose her.""
Julian’s eyes darkened. ""Not if I get there first.""
