Chapter 11 - The Shadow Backer
Clara’s heart tightened, though her face remained completely impassive. ""Julian doesn't have three million dollars. Every bank account associated with his name, his brother, and Vanessa Price has been frozen under federal injunction.""
""The bail bond came from an offshore entity registered in Zurich,"" Victor explained, reviewing the digital memo handed to him by his assistant. ""An investment house named Blackwood Global.""
Clara’s fingers grazed the edge of the conference table. Blackwood Global was not an ordinary investment house. It was a predatory buyout syndicate run by Damian Vance—Julian’s estranged, ruthless uncle who had been exiled from the family business a decade ago after a vicious corporate takeover battle.
""Damian Vance,"" Clara whispered.
""Julian must have crawled to him,"" Victor said grimly. ""Damian doesn't do charity, Clara. If he posted three million dollars for Julian, he wants something in return. Most likely, he wants Vance Logistics' proprietary data to undermine Apex.""
""He won't get it,"" Clara said, rising to her feet. ""The source code servers are physically located in my private facility. Julian only had access through client tokens, which were revoked forty-eight hours ago.""
""Be careful, Clara,"" Victor warned, standing to escort her to the door. ""Julian is a desperate man with a shattered ego, and Damian Vance is an apex predator. When men like that realize they have lost everything, they don't look for legal remedies. They look for revenge.""
Clara walked out of the building into the cool twilight. She immediately dialed Marcus.
""Marcus, where is Julian right now?""
""He was processed out of the county lockup thirty minutes ago,"" Marcus replied, his keyboard clicking rapidly in the background. ""A black armored SUV picked him up. We tracked it heading north toward the industrial district. But Clara... someone accessed the surveillance perimeter at your private research facility ten minutes ago.""
Clara’s stomach plummeted. ""My father is being moved to the airport transit facility near that perimeter today.""
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""I'm dispatching our tactical security team now,"" Marcus said, urgency lacing his tone. ""Get to a secure location immediately.""
""No,"" Clara commanded, signaling her driver to pull up. ""Julian thinks he can still intimidate me. Take me to the research facility right now.""
