Chapter 6 - The Ghost in Port 74
""What survivor?"" Clara demanded, stepping up beside him at the window sill. The chill of the night air whipped through her robe, but she didn't seem to feel it. ""Your father told me it was an insurance policy. He said it was the key to neutralizing the board.""
""My father lied to you, Clara. Just like he lied to Julian. Just like he lied to me,"" Christian said, not looking at her. He tapped the magazine of his Glock, checking the remaining rounds before sliding it back into the holster beneath his coat. ""Container forty-two houses the biological daughter of Nikolai Volkov.""
Clara froze. The Volkov family was the phantom that had haunted European logistics for three decades. Nikolai had vanished after the fall of the Soviet Union, leaving behind an untraceable empire of subterranean trade routes and encrypted banking networks. Whoever controlled his bloodline controlled the shadow trade of the entire eastern continent.
""She’s twelve years old,"" Christian added, his voice hollowed out by an exhaustion he never allowed the world to see. ""My father kidnapped her six weeks ago to force Nikolai out of retirement. When my father had his heart attack, the coordinates to her holding container defaulted to the harbor mainframe. In three hours, the air circulation in that crate will shut off automatically.""
Clara’s hand instinctively found the silver buckle on Titan’s harness. ""And Julian was sent to clean up the evidence.""
""If the Syndicate finds her dead, they blame Vance Global. If they find her alive, they execute Nikolai and absorb his network,"" Christian explained, finally turning to face Clara. ""Either way, our family name is erased, and everyone associated with us will be hunted down. Starting with you.""
Clara took a deep breath, her calculating mind piecing together the disaster. ""We have ninety minutes before the tide turns and the perimeter locks down.""
""We don't have ninety minutes,"" Christian said, pointing down the mountain road.
Through the trees, four pairs of high-intensity halogen headlights were winding rapidly up the private driveway leading directly to the mansion gates. The Syndicate reinforcements were not waiting for Julian’s report. They were coming to sweep the grounds.
Titan let out a low, urgent whine, looking between Christian and Clara.
""The underground tunnel behind the wine cellar leads to the boathouse,"" Christian said, his commanding authority snapping back into place. ""Take the dog and go.""
""I’m not leaving you here,"" Clara snapped.
May you like
""You don't have a choice,"" Christian retorted, grabbing her shoulder. ""You wanted to bring me to my knees? You won't get the satisfaction if you're dead on this marble.""
Clara grabbed the lapel of his overcoat, pulling him down until their eyes met in the darkness. ""I hold the decryption key to the container, Christian. Without me, that girl suffocates. We leave together, or none of us leaves at all.""
