Chapter 21 - The War Room
The morning after the siege, our dining room had been transformed. Maps of the state, financial ledgers, and dossiers on obscure holding companies covered the table where Ethan usually ate his breakfast. Arthur stood by the window, watching the perimeter guards pace.
"We need to follow the money, Amanda," Arthur said, tapping a red line on a map. "These people don't operate on conviction alone. They need infrastructure. If we want to cut off their head, we start by starving the body."
"The logistics firm," I realized, looking at the data. "They're using the transport routes to move more than just cargo."
"Exactly," Arthur confirmed. "I checked the manifests from the last six months. There are gaps—shipments that are logged but never scanned into the final system. They’re moving people, assets, and probably weapons right under our noses."
I felt a surge of cold fury. "I spent a year trying to fix the public image of this company, and all this time, it was being used as a supply line for a cult?"
"Not just a cult," Arthur said grimly. "An insurgency."
I picked up a pen and circled a location: a shipping yard in the north of the state. "That’s where the discrepancies start. If we go there, we don't go as executives. We go as ghosts."
May you like
"I’ve already contacted a private mercenary group I used to work with," Arthur said, his eyes meeting mine. "They’re expensive, but they’re loyal. They’ll be here by midnight."
"Good," I said, my voice steady. "Because the next time they come to my door, I intend to be the one holding the gun, not the one hiding behind it."
