Chapter 15 - The Traitor's Scent
Henderson’s face turned purple, his hands clawing at Julian’s vice-like grip. "I had no choice! They have my family, Julian! Edward... Edward is in the city! He never died! He’s been orchestrating everything from the shadows for two decades!"
"Where is he?" Elena demanded, stepping forward, her eyes merciless.
"The old Sterling private dry docks... Pier 42," Henderson choked out. "Victoria met him there at dawn after the private hospital extraction. They have a container ship ready to depart for non-extradition waters. But they aren't leaving without what's inside the ancestral vault at Blackwood Manor!"
Julian hurled Henderson onto the floor like a sack of garbage. "Marcus, lock this traitor in the holding room. Call the Attorney General directly. Freeze every asset tied to the Ouroboros account."
As security dragged Henderson away, Sophia burst into the boardroom, out of breath, her tablet flashing an urgent red alert. "Julian! Elena! We’ve got a critical breach at the Blackwood Manor estate. The private motion sensors on the subterranean crypt were triggered ten minutes ago."
Elena looked at Julian, the unspoken realization hanging between them. The silver rattle sent to baby Leo was a diversion to draw their security to the penthouse. The stock market raid was a diversion to draw them to Wall Street.
Their true target was Blackwood Manor.
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"What is inside that vault that Edward and Victoria are willing to burn down the entire world to recover?" Elena asked, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
Julian looked down at his own wedding band, his face pale as marble. "My father didn't hide money down there, Elena. He hid the evidence of how the Sterling dynasty began—and the blood sacrifice it was built upon."
