Chapter 13 - Wings Over the Sound
The panic clawed at Clara’s throat like wild talons. "We have to go! Now! Alexander, please, they'll pull the plug on her machines!"
"They won't," Alexander said, his voice instantly snapping into ice-cold command, cutting straight through her hysteria. He gripped both her shoulders, forcing her eyes to meet his. "Listen to me, Clara. Julian wants the shares. If Elena dies before the trust deed is signed, the shares don't go to him—they freeze in probate court for seven years. He is using her as bait to draw you back to Seattle on his terms."
"Then we give him what he wants—"
"No," Alexander cut her off fiercely. "We give him an execution."
He turned to Marcus. "Is the Gulfstream operational at the private runway?"
"Fueled and ready, sir. Flight time to King County International is fourteen minutes," Marcus reported, already wiping the blood from his brow.
"Get the county registrar on board that aircraft right now," Alexander commanded. "We sign the papers in international airspace over the Sound. By the time our wheels touch the tarmac in Seattle, Clara will be Mrs. Alexander Vance, co-owner of Vance Holdings, with full legal power of attorney over every private security asset in the state."
Within ten minutes, they were racing down the island’s private tarmac inside an armored SUV, with Titan sitting vigilantly between Clara and Alexander. The sleek black Gulfstream jet waited at the end of the strip, its twin engines whining at high idle, blowing plumes of heat into the pre-dawn mist.
As they climbed the boarding stairs, an elderly gentleman clutching a leather notary satchel was ushered into the cabin by two armed guards. His glasses were crooked, and his hands shook violently.
"Mr. Vance!" the registrar stammered. "This is highly irregular! Performing a marriage under active military threat—"
"You're being paid fifty thousand dollars for ten minutes of legal work, Judge Miller," Alexander said smoothly, stepping into the cabin and guiding Clara toward the plush leather conference table in the center of the jet. "All you need to do is verify our identities, administer the oath, and stamp the certificate."
The jet immediately surged forward, the powerful engines pinning them back into their seats as the aircraft rocketed down the runway and leaped into the dark sky above the Pacific.
On the table between them lay three documents: the historical trust deed signed thirty years ago by Arthur Vance and David Mercer, the modern corporate merger agreement, and the state marriage certificate.
Judge Miller cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses with trembling fingers. "Do you, Alexander Vance, take Clara Diaz to be your lawfully wedded wife, to share in all property, legal authority, and foundational equity of Vance Holdings?"
Alexander didn't look at the judge. He looked straight into Clara’s eyes. His gaze was fierce, raw, and completely unmasked.
"I do," Alexander said, his voice steady and resolute.
"And do you, Clara Diaz, take Alexander Vance to be your lawfully wedded husband, under the same covenants and protections?"
Clara looked down at the signature line beneath her father's faded name. She felt her mother’s courage coursing through her veins. She looked up at the man who had stood between her and death, who had bled for her, who had treated her not as a pawn, but as an equal.
"I do," Clara said clearly.
"By the power vested in me by the State of Washington, I pronounce you husband and wife," Judge Miller said, slamming his heavy steel notary stamp onto the embossed seal.
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Alexander took the pen, scrawling his bold, angular signature across the bottom. He handed the pen to Clara. With a steady hand, she signed: Clara Diaz-Vance.
At that exact moment, the pilot’s voice crackled over the cabin speaker: "Mr. Vance, we have begun our descent into Seattle. King County tower reports that the power grid around Providence St. Peter Hospital has just been intentionally severed."
