Chapter 7 - Blood and Blackmail
Arthur stumbled forward as the officers reluctantly unlocked the steel cuffs, his wrists red and raw. He rubbed them with a smirk of petty satisfaction, smoothing down his crumpled lapels. ""Smart boy. You always knew blood was thicker than pride. Now, transfer the keys, Kenneth. Give them what they want, and maybe they’ll let the old woman live long enough to die of old age.""
Kenneth didn't answer with words.
His hand shot out like a striking viper, grabbing Arthur by the throat and slamming him violently against the head banquet table. Crystal glasses tumbled and shattered, red wine splashing across Arthur’s white dress shirt like fresh blood. Eleanor shrieked from the floor, crawling backward in terror.
""You think this is a family reunion, Arthur?"" Kenneth growled, his face inches from his father's terrified eyes. ""You think you're walking out of here alive if she dies?""
""Kenneth! Stop! You're choking him!"" Eleanor wailed, her aristocratic dignity completely obliterated. ""He did it for us! He did it for Julian! Those men were going to kill Julian over his debts!""
Kenneth didn't look away from Arthur’s bulging eyes. ""You sold your own mother to pay for your idiot son's baccarat games?""
Arthur gasped for breath, his fingers clawing at Kenneth’s iron grip. ""She... she possessed... the original bearer bonds! Three billion dollars... locked behind... her biometric signature! Julian was going to be skinned alive by the cartel! I had no choice!""
""You always had a choice,"" Kenneth hissed. He released his grip, letting Arthur collapse onto the table amidst broken glass and spilled wine, coughing violently.
Kenneth turned toward the banquet hall’s main doors. The room had cleared; Vance had efficiently evacuated the terrified guests, leaving only armed tactical units holding the perimeter. Vance stepped up beside Kenneth, his face grave. ""The Swiss authorities are forty minutes away from that sector. Even with military clearance, they won't reach the estate before the timer expires.""
""The Swiss authorities won't be needed,"" Kenneth said, pulling a secondary satellite transponder from his inner suit pocket. He flipped the cover open, revealing a single crimson toggle.
Arthur, sitting up with trembling hands, recognized the device and recoiled in pure horror. ""No... Kenneth, no! That’s the orbital override! You can't use that on Swiss soil! It will trigger an international incident!""
Kenneth didn't blink. ""You told me twenty minutes ago that I was sitting by the plants because I didn't fit your aesthetic. Now you're going to watch what happens when you threaten the woman who actually built this family.""
Kenneth flicked the toggle.
The phone screen on the table lit up again, not with the kidnapper’s feed, but with an incoming high-frequency encrypted call labeled: PROJECT VALKYRIE - ACTIVE.
A calm, deep voice spoke through the speaker: ""Chairman. The satellite array is locked onto the Geneva coordinates. Strike package is armed. We await your word.""
Arthur stared at his son as if seeing a monster for the first time. ""What... what did you build in those five years?""
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Kenneth looked down at his watch. 00:28:14.
""I built an army, Father. And you just gave me an excuse to use it.""
