Chapter 13 - Flight to Zurich
Twenty-four hours later, the private Gulfstream medical transport jet cruised at forty thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean.
The interior of the luxury aircraft had been converted into a high-tech flying intensive care unit. In the center of the cabin, the portable incubator hummed quietly, maintained by two specialized pediatric flight nurses. Hope slept inside, her breathing steady and deep under the mild sedation, her tiny chest rising and falling with natural ease.
Claire sat beside the incubator, dressed in soft grey cashmere, her color slowly returning. Her hands were wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, but her eyes never left her daughter.
Julian walked over, holding a secure satellite tablet. He had showered, shaved, and changed into a fresh white shirt, though the dark circles under his eyes bore witness to the war he had fought.
"How is she doing?" Julian asked softly, resting a hand on Claire’s shoulder.
"Her oxygen is ninety-four percent," Claire smiled, a genuine, tearful smile of peace. "Dr. Thorne said the Swiss institute is ready for us. Their team will meet us on the tarmac in Zurich. She’s going to make it, Julian."
Julian exhaled a breath he felt he had been holding for days. He pulled a chair beside her, sinking into it, and placed the tablet on the small table between them.
"What's that?" Claire asked.
"The fallout," Julian replied, tapping the screen.
The news headlines scrolled across the display in bold, relentless typography:
STERLING EMPIRE CRUMBLES: CHAIRWOMAN ELEANOR STERLING INDICTED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES.
FEDERAL AGENTS SEIZE OFFSHORE ASSETS: MARCUS STERLING HELD WITHOUT BAIL.
ARTHUR VANCE TURNS STATE’S EVIDENCE IN MASSIVE EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME.
"Arthur signed the confession?" Claire asked.
"He gave them everything," Julian said. "He handed over thirty years of blackmail files, the money laundering records, and his sworn testimony that Eleanor premeditated your fall from the mezzanine. She will spend the rest of her life at Bedford Hills Maximum Security Prison."
Claire looked out the oval window at the endless sea of clouds bathed in golden sunset light. "Do you feel anything? For her?"
Julian looked down at his wedding ring, then through the glass at his daughter's tiny, perfect face. "I felt sorrow for the mother I thought I had. But that woman was a ghost. The only family I have is right here in this plane."
Claire reached out, intertwining her fingers with his. "Where do we go after Zurich, Julian? We can't go back to the mansion. That place is poisoned."
"We aren't going back," Julian promised. "I sold the estate this morning. The proceeds are going into a foundation for neonatal trauma care. We'll find a home by the lake in Switzerland. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere safe."
A soft chime rang through the cabin speakers. The captain's voice broke over the intercom:
"Mr. Sterling, we have just entered Swiss airspace. We are cleared for immediate descent into Zurich. Weather is clear."
Julian and Claire looked at each other, a shared look of triumph and profound relief washing over them.
Then, Julian’s encrypted phone buzzed with an incoming call from an unlisted number.
Julian answered, pressing the receiver to his ear. "Sterling."
May you like
A cold, synthetic voice spoke from the other end.
"Mr. Sterling. You broke Eleanor, but you forgot one detail. Your father didn't die of a heart attack ten years ago. And he wants his company back."
