Chapter 30 - The Name in the Dark"Stop crying, Marcus," I commanded sharply, my voice cracking like a whip in the small concrete room. "You brought these monsters to my doorstep. Now you are going to tell me exactly how to kill them."
Marcus looked up at me, tears streaming down his hollow cheeks. "You can't kill them, Clara! You don't understand what they are! Obsidian isn't just a group of thugs. They own senators. They own judges. They will slaughter your father, they will burn down your shelter, and they will make it look like a tragic accident."
"I am not the terrified girl you used to hit, Marcus," I stated leaning closer to the thick glass. "I dismantled your entire life in an afternoon. If you don't give me a name right now, I will personally ensure that every inmate in this cell block knows exactly who you were laundering money for. How long do you think you'll survive in the yard when Obsidian's insiders find out you're a liability?"
Marcus gasped, choking on his own breath. He knew I wasn't bluffing. He was trapped between the vengeance of a syndicate and the ruthless pragmatism of the woman he had underestimated.
"His name is Julian Cross," Marcus choked out, practically hyperventilating. "He is their primary North American envoy. He handles the high-level asset recovery. He’s a ghost, Clara. He has no official digital footprint, no tax records. He operates entirely through proxies and encrypted satellite networks."
"How does he communicate?" I demanded.
"He doesn't communicate; he just appears," Marcus sobbed, rocking back and forth on his stool. "If he sent you the black envelope, it means the warning phase is already over. He is demanding the fifty million dollars. If you don't wire the funds back to their shadow accounts within seventy-two hours, Julian Cross will start executing your family."
"Let him try," I said coldly.
May you like
I stood up from the metal table, smoothing my jacket. I looked down at the pathetic, chained monster who had once controlled my entire existence.
"You brought the devil into our lives, Marcus," I said softly. "But you forgot that I am the one who builds the cages." I turned and walked out of the interrogation room, leaving his desperate, terrified sobs echoing against the concrete walls.
