Chapter 12 - The Airport Escape
Victoria’s recorded image flickered against the dim lighting of the grand ballroom, her expression cold and entirely unrepentant.
"By the time the federal marshals process this video," Victoria’s recorded voice continued smoothly from the terminal screen, "my private jet will already be descending toward a jurisdiction with no extradition treaty with the United States. And Chloe, my dear... your digital identity, your university records, and your bank accounts are currently being systematically wiped from every server in the country."
Chloe stood paralyzed. She pulled out her smartphone, watching in real-time as the screen flashed black, displaying a generic system error message. Her banking apps logged her out automatically. Her university portal displayed a chilling notice: Account Terminated Due to Identity Verification Failure.
"She didn't just steal my research," Chloe whispered, the color draining completely from her face. "She’s erasing my entire existence."
Julian slammed his fist onto the mahogany table, sending a small cascade of cup noodle cups tumbling to the floor. "She can't do that! That’s federal cyber-terrorism!"
"She just did," the tech agent said, tapping frantically on his keyboard. "The ping from this video file... it’s bouncing off a satellite relay in the Caribbean. She’s already out of airspace."
Arthur Vance slammed his cane down, his face flushed with anger. "The board will issue a global red notice. We will hunt her down across every border!"
"A red notice takes days to process," Chloe said, forcing herself to calm down. The initial shock receded, replaced by the sharp, calculating resilience that had kept her alive through years of hardship. She looked at Julian. "Where is her secondary airstrip? The private one she used for Sterling Trust logistics."
Julian stared at her, blinking in surprise. "How did you know she had a secondary strip? Even the board didn't know about that."
"Because when I bought out those discounted emergency rations from the warehouse, the shipping manifest listed a private hangar in upstate New York—not a Caribbean flight plan," Chloe explained rapidly. "She lied in the pre-recorded video to throw the feds off her trail. She’s still in the state."
The federal tech agent spun his terminal around. "She’s right! The metadata on the video file was pre-encoded three days ago. The actual telemetry from her secure satellite phone is pinging a private tarmac ninety miles north of Manhattan."
Julian didn't hesitate. He stripped off the remainder of his formal attire, leaving the dark blue velvet jacket draped over a chair, revealing a simple black shirt underneath. "Let's go."
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Arthur Vance raised a shaky hand. "Take my driver's car. It’s parked at the private exit. And take this." He handed Julian a heavy iron key with an old-fashioned brass tag. "That opens the secondary gate at the northern hangar. Your grandfather installed it. Victoria doesn't even know it exists."
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