Chapter 20 - The Unseen Puppeteer
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The serenity of the afternoon was shattered an hour later.
I was in my underground study, reviewing a newly proposed shipping contract, when my head of security, Hector, knocked sharply on the heavy steel door.
“Enter,” I commanded.
Hector stepped into the room. He didn't look relaxed. His face was a mask of grim, terrifying tension. In his gloved hands, he held a small, black, velvet-lined box.
“This was just delivered to the front gates by an anonymous courier,” Hector reported, setting the box down on my mahogany desk. “Security scanned it. No explosives, no biohazards. But the messenger explicitly stated it was for your eyes only.”
I frowned, setting my pen down. I stared at the black box.
I reached out and popped the small brass latch, flipping the lid open.
Inside rested a single, pristine white chess piece. A queen.
Tucked beneath the base of the chess piece was a small, folded note written on expensive, heavy-stock paper.
I unfolded the note. The handwriting was elegant, sharp, and completely unfamiliar.
Dear Victor,
You played the board beautifully. You removed the greedy Judge and the ambitious daughter exactly as I anticipated. Thank you for cleaning up the messy pawns.
But the game is far from over. Audrey was never the mastermind. She was just the distraction I needed to test your defenses.
See you soon.
I stared at the note, the blood freezing in my veins.
Audrey hadn't acted alone. The poison, the gambling debts in Macau, the Russian mob pressing the Judge—it hadn't been a desperate coincidence. It had been a highly orchestrated, multi-million-dollar test designed by someone hiding deep in the shadows. Someone who had manipulated a federal judge and a mafia boss just to see how I would react.
May you like
I looked up at Hector, the cold, ruthless fire returning to my eyes, burning hotter than ever before.
“Lock down the estate,” I whispered, crushing the note in my fist. “The war didn't end, Hector. It just started.”
