Chapter 16 - The Setup
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Christmas Eve arrived with a brutal, howling blizzard that buried Connecticut under two feet of snow.
I woke up early, moving with absolute, terrifying precision. I drove Emma to Margaret’s house, located deep in a secluded, gated community in upstate New York. Margaret had agreed to watch her, knowing the sheer scale of the danger approaching.
"Are you sure you know what you are doing, Claire?" Margaret asked, holding a mug of coffee as I kissed Emma goodbye at the door. "Dealing with the Russian syndicate isn't a legal battle. It’s a bloodbath."
"I know exactly what I am doing," I assured her, zipping up my heavy winter coat. "I am ending this."
I left my daughter safe and secure, driving back through the blinding snowstorm toward the abandoned Whitmore summer estate in Maine.
I had contacted the number that had called me weeks ago, utilizing an encrypted burner phone. I told the Sokolov representative that I possessed the encryption keys and the physical ledgers. I demanded a face-to-face meeting on neutral ground to negotiate the return of their assets.
They agreed. Midnight on Christmas Eve.
I arrived at the dark, freezing mansion at 10:00 PM. The wind shrieked through the broken French doors, carrying snow onto the expensive hardwood floors.
I walked into the master study, placing the heavy lockbox containing the $50 million in ledgers and bearer bonds directly in the center of the mahogany desk. I dragged a heavy leather armchair to the opposite side of the room, sitting in the shadows, facing the door.
I checked the chamber of my handgun, resting it casually on my lap beneath my coat.
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I was not a trained killer. I was a grieving mother. But grief had hollowed out all of my fear, leaving nothing but an impenetrable armor of absolute rage.
I waited in the dark for the monsters to arrive.
