Chapter 4 - The Unseen Strings
A package arrived at noon the following day, bypassed by private courier and left directly at the service entrance. It was addressed to Bennett, bearing no return label.
Inside was a single silver keychain—a small, intricately carved compass—and a photograph of her younger sister, Clara, walking across her college campus in Boston.
Bennett's hands began to shake violently. The silver compass slipped through her fingers, clattering onto the marble floor.
Julian was at her side in an instant. He snatched up the photo, his eyes narrowing to slits as he processed the implicit threat. "Clara," Bennett whispered, her voice choking on rising panic. "He knows. Richard knows I'm not in Switzerland. He’s watching Clara."
"He won't touch her," Julian declared with absolute, lethal certainty. He pulled out his private satellite phone and dialed a three-digit speed dial. "Marcus. Deploy Team Bravo to the Boston campus immediately. Clara Bennett. Unobtrusive perimeter protection, twenty-four-hour surveillance. If anyone steps within ten feet of her with an intent to approach, neutralize them."
He hung up, turned to Bennett, and placed both hands firmly on her shoulders, mirroring the posture from the night she woke up. "Look at me, Bennett."
May you like
She forced herself to look into his gaze, fighting back the tears of terror that threatened to spill.
"I gave you my word," he said slowly, each word deliberate and grounded. "You are safe in this house, and your family is safe under my watch. Richard has crossed into territory from which there is no retreat. He thinks fear makes people compliant. He forgets that fear can also strip away caution."
