CHAPTER 22: THE GENEVA TRAFFIC
CHAPTER 22: THE GENEVA TRAFFIC
The voice on the line carried the exact same terrifying precision as Arthur’s, but with a sharper, younger edge.
"Who is this?" I demanded, pressing the speaker button so Hannah could hear.
"I am the clean slate," Helena Sterling replied calmly.
"My father and my brother were foolish men. They used violence, emotion, and petty blackmail. They left a paper trail that a child could follow."
"The Sterling empire is dead, Helena," Hannah said, leaning toward the microphone.
"The courts dissolved the assets."
A soft, elegant laugh came through the speaker.
"The courts dissolved what they could see, Hannah," Helena countered.
"They did not touch the offshore logistics network in Zurich. They did not find the maritime infrastructure that holds thirty billion dollars of dark capital."
"And you have exactly forty-eight hours to hand over the physical metadata ledger your mother hid beneath the foundation floorboards."
I froze. "How do you know about that?"
"Because I am the one who gave your mother the container to hide it in," Helena whispered.
"Twenty years ago, I tried to save your family from my father. But now, your father's cooperation has put my own freedom in jeopardy."
"If that file isn't routed to my Swiss server by midnight tomorrow..."
"I will let the federal government see the real transactions from 2006. The ones that prove your father didn't just sign contracts out of negligence."
"The ones that prove he authorized the transport that led to the original cartel executions."
The line went dead, leaving us in a suffocating silence.
May you like
---
##
