Chapter 5 - Bargains in the Dark
The voice over the static frequency was smooth, educated, and chillingly familiar. Victor.
Adrian snatched the receiver, his thumb pressing the toggle so hard the casing groaned. "If you come within ten miles of this child, Victor, I’ll finish what I started four years ago. There won't be enough left of you to bury."
A low chuckle scraped through the speaker. "Always the romantic, Adrian. But you mistake my purpose. I didn't send men to the penthouse to kill the child. I sent them to retrieve my collateral. The girl doesn't just share your blood, my friend. She holds the cryptographic key to the syndicate's dormant offshore vaults—encoded into her medical registry chip before Elena fled."
Clara gasped softly, her hand flying to Sarah's side. She felt beneath the infant's skin near the collarbone—a tiny, firm micro-implant sat just beneath the surface.
"You turned an infant into a bearer bond," Adrian snarled.
"I ensured my survival," Victor replied coldly. "Deliver the child to the old grain terminal at dawn, or I deploy Clara’s family records to every mercenary on the coast. You have four hours."
The radio cut off into deafening white noise.
May you like
Clara looked at Adrian, her eyes wide with mounting terror. "My sister. My nieces. He knows where they live."
Adrian checked the magazine of his sidearm, the cold slide clicking into place. "He wants an exchange. He won't get one."
