Chapter 13 - The Counter-Strike
At 7:00 AM, the morning light broke cold and gray over Manhattan. Inside the hospital room, Eva had transformed the private lounge into a high-powered command center. Three laptop screens glowed on the rolling medical tables, displaying market tickers, legal filings, and real-time feeds from European exchanges.
Eva sat in an ergonomic armchair, nursing Maya with one arm while reviewing a drafted subpoena on the screen before her. Her face showed no sign of the grueling labor she had endured only hours earlier. She was entirely in command.
Her phone rang. It was an unlisted Milan number.
Eva tapped the speaker button. ""Speak.""
""Signora Vance,"" a deep, gravelly voice resonated from the speaker. Massimo Bellini spoke English with a heavy, cultured Italian accent. ""Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. It is a pity that such a joyous day must be overshadowed by financial ruin.""
""Save the theatrics, Massimo,"" Eva replied evenly. ""Your tender offer on Vance Global is currently trading at forty-two euros a share. You've already spent nearly three hundred million trying to corner my stock.""
""A small price to pay to secure my family’s legacy,"" Massimo chuckled coldly. ""Weston was a disappointment, yes. But his blood is my blood. You humiliated my name on international television, and you tried to lock him away. By midday, I will own the building your daughter was born in.""
""You won't own a single brick, Massimo,"" Eva said, her voice smooth and entirely devoid of fear. ""Because at eight o'clock, the United States Coast Guard seized four of your container vessels in the Port of New York and New Jersey.""
A heavy, sudden silence gripped the other end of the line.
""What nonsense are you talking about?"" Massimo demanded, his tone losing its casual arrogance.
""Container numbers 402 through 415 on the Freccia del Sud,"" Eva read directly from the encrypted manifest Vance had decrypted. ""Documented as industrial machine parts. In reality, they are carrying eighty million dollars of undeclared luxury contraband and untaxed rare minerals routed through shell accounts tied directly to your Luxembourg trust.""
""Where did you get that information?"" Massimo’s voice dropped into a dangerous growl.
""Your idiot son stole it from Eleanor's old drives, thinking it was my portfolio,"" Eva laughed softly. ""He gave me the gun, Massimo. And you just gave me the target.""
""You wouldn't dare release that to federal authorities,"" Massimo hissed. ""The resulting investigation would tie up your own shipping contracts for months!""
""I already sent it,"" Eva said coldly. ""The press release goes out in fifteen minutes. Your Luxembourg accounts are being frozen by the European Anti-Fraud Office as we speak. Your tender offer will collapse before the bell rings on Wall Street.""
Massimo let out a ragged breath. ""Eva... let us negotiate. Name your price.""
""My price is your complete and total eradication from this continent,"" Eva stated with chilling authority. ""Withdraw the tender offer. Liquidate your American holdings. And if I ever see your car outside this hospital again, I will personally fund the federal task force that puts you in a supermax facility.""
She disconnected the call before he could answer.
May you like
Across the room, Diane gave a low whistle. ""He's pulling the bid. The Luxembourg fund just formally canceled the tender.""
Eva looked down at Maya, who was sleeping peacefully against her chest. ""One more snake to cut down,"" Eva whispered. ""Then we go home.""
