Chapter 50 - The Bank of Shadows
|
The Bank of Shadows didn't have a corporate sign. It was disguised as an elite private art gallery in the heart of Geneva's financial district.
Julian led Elias and me through the revolving glass doors, past priceless Picasso paintings, and toward a private elevator hidden behind a false mahogany wall. We descended deep underground, far past the city's subway lines, until the doors opened into a cavernous, steel-reinforced vault room. The air was frigid, smelling of ozone and old paper.
Standing in the center of the vault, flanked by a dozen heavily armed mercenaries, was Victoria Sterling.
She wore a tailored crimson suit that screamed authority. Her sharp cheekbones and piercing blue eyes locked onto me the moment I stepped off the elevator.
"Emily," Victoria purred, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "You have your mother's stubbornness. I commend you for surviving Paris, but the game ends here. Hand over the Genesis Code."
"You promised a negotiation, Victoria," I said, stepping into the center of the room, my posture completely relaxed despite the laser sights aimed at my chest.
"There is no negotiation, child," Victoria laughed lightly, her voice echoing off the steel walls. "I killed your mother because she was weak. I killed your father because he was a fool. And I will kill you because you are an inconvenience. Julian, take the drive and shoot them both."
Julian stepped forward, raising his pistol.
"I wouldn't do that," I said, tapping a hidden button on my customized smartwatch.
Victoria frowned. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," I smiled coldly. "Jax did."
Suddenly, the massive steel doors of the vault hissed open. Standing in the threshold were eleven men and women dressed in immaculate suits. They were the other High Chairs of the European Council, the most dangerous crime lords on the continent.
And they all held the decrypted files Jax had sent them thirty minutes ago.
May you like
"Victoria," an Italian boss said, his voice trembling with absolute rage. "We have seen the ledgers. You stole three billion euros from the Council treasury. You used our money to fund your private wars."
Victoria’s face drained of all color. She looked at me in pure horror. The trap hadn't been set for me. It had been set for her.
