Chapter 17 - The Prison Break Mirage
"Charles," Julian said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, lethal calm. "Call off your dogs, or I will turn Evelyn over to the FBI within the hour. She’ll spend the rest of her life in federal custody for conspiracy."
Charles chuckled, taking a slow sip from a crystal tumbler of scotch. "Evelyn is collateral damage, Julian. She served her purpose when she brought you the message. You can shoot her, drown her in the ocean, or turn her over to Miller—it makes no difference to me. The board met three hours ago in Geneva. Clause Forty-Nine has been formally ratified. The Sterling family assets—all eleven point four billion dollars—are now under my operational control."
"Keep the money!" Clara stepped into the camera’s view, holding Maya so Charles could see the child. "Take every cent! Leave us alone! We don't want your empire, we don't want Victoria’s legacy! Let us live!"
Charles’s smile faded. His eyes fixed onto the infant, his gaze predatory, unblinking. "You don't understand the rules of the Sterling bloodline, Clara. The money is meaningless without the legitimacy. Our grandfather’s trust was chartered with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1948. It stipulates that any trustee must hold biological custody of the family matriarch’s bloodline. Victoria cannot pass the mantle to me... unless I am the legal guardian of Julian’s child."
"Over my dead body," Julian snarled.
"That can be arranged," Charles said mildly. "In fact, the schedule has already been accelerated. Turn on the television."
Julian reached for the remote on the counter, flicking on the battery-powered emergency TV. The screen flared with the bright red graphics of a CNN breaking news alert:
*BREAKING NEWS: EXPLOSION AND MASS RIOT AT FCI DUBLIN. MULTIPLE CASUALTIES REPORTED.*
The news anchor’s voice sounded frantic over shaky footage of orange flames engulfing the perimeter towers of the federal prison.
*“...Officials confirm that a catastrophic structural explosion rocked Cellblock B at approximately eleven o'clock tonight. Unconfirmed reports state that high-profile inmate Victoria Sterling was inside the medical wing when the detonation occurred. First responders are currently battling the blaze, but warden officials fear there are no survivors in the eastern quadrant...”*
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Julian stared at the screen in disbelief. "She blew up the prison..."
"Victoria didn't blow up anything," Charles remarked from the iPad, leaning back with a cold smirk. "I did. Victoria thought she was playing chess with me. She thought I was going to help her escape to South America once the assets cleared." Charles leaned into the lens, his eyes blazing with psychopathic ambition. "She forgot that in chess... the queen can be sacrificed to protect the king."
