Chapter 13
The coastal wind whipped through the open windows of Marcus’s sedan as it raced along the winding highway toward the private airstrip outside the county line. Amy sat in the passenger seat, her eyes fixed on the gray asphalt stretching endlessly ahead, while Marcus kept one hand firmly on the steering wheel and the other dialing a direct emergency line to the federal marshal service.
"They’re confirming the flight plan," Marcus said, his voice tense as he navigated a sharp curve. "Victoria’s charter filed a flight path to Geneva ten minutes ago. If she clears the state airspace before the federal interception order is signed, she’ll be completely out of our reach."
"She thinks she’s won," Amy said quietly, her fingers resting gently over her resting child. "Even from a prison cell, Julian and his family always believed they were above the consequences of their own destruction."
"They're about to find out gravity applies to everyone," Marcus replied, accelerating as the flat expanse of the private airfield came into view through the coastal fog.
A sleek white Gulfstream jet sat idling on the tarmac, its turbine engines whining with a high-pitched roar. A black town car was parked just fifty feet from the boarding ramp, and as Marcus’s sedan screeched to a halt near the chain-link security gate, the rear door of the vehicle swung open. Victoria stepped out, her dark green trench coat billowing in the jet wash, a heavy leather garment bag slung over her shoulder.
"Stop right there, Victoria!" Marcus shouted, leaping out of the car and vaulting the low security fence with surprising agility.
Victoria paused at the bottom of the aluminum boarding stairs. She turned slowly, her expression cool, calculating, and entirely devoid of panic. She looked past Marcus straight at Amy, who had stepped out of the passenger side and was walking steadily toward the tarmac.
"Amy, darling," Victoria called out over the roar of the jet engines, a bitter smile touching her lips. "You really thought a two-star motel and a disgruntled lawyer were enough to bring down three generations of power?"
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"You didn't build an empire, Victoria," Amy said, her voice carrying clearly across the windy tarmac as she stopped ten feet away. "You built a cage, and you finally locked yourselves inside it."
Before Victoria could step onto the aircraft, the sharp wail of approaching federal police sirens echoed across the airfield from the main access road.
