Chapter 11 - The Voice on the Intercom
The harsh glare of the rooftop spotlight pinned Julian against the rusted corrugated steel of Hangar 4 like an insect under a microscope. He lowered the sidearm slowly, his eyes squinting against the blinding illumination as he scanned the catwalks above the tarmac.
“Show yourself!” Julian shouted, his voice cutting through the whining roar of the Gulfstream’s idling jet engines.
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the upper observation office, leaning casually against the metal railing. Even from a distance, the tailored silhouette of the cashmere overcoat and the arrogant tilt of the head were unmistakable. It wasn't Robert. It was Arthur Vance—their estranged uncle and the shadowy patriarch of the family council who had supposedly died in a private plane crash twenty years ago.
Julian’s breath caught in his throat. “Arthur… everyone said you perished in the Alps.”
Arthur chuckled, the sound echoing mechanically through the hangar’s PA speakers. “Death is such a vulgar term for a strategic relocation, Julian. When you control the board, you can write any obituary you like. But you never quite learned how the real family business operates, did you? You thought you could just marry some socialite, build clean tech startups, and pretend our family’s wealth was built on honest venture capital.”
Below on the tarmac, one of the tactical operatives holding the pink bundle stepped forward, handing the crying infant up to a man standing near the open door of the private jet.
“Let the child go, Arthur,” Julian growled, taking a slow step forward into the open space of the hangar floor. “She’s a baby. She has nothing to do with the corporate board or your criminal empire.”
“She has everything to do with it, Julian,” Arthur replied, his voice hardening as he straightened up from the railing. “The Vance bloodline requires a specific genetic alignment to access the dormant trust funds we hold in Zurich. Your first wife figured it out years ago—that’s why she tried to flee with the twins. She thought she could hide one child in plain sight with Lily while smuggling the other overseas. But blood always calls to blood, and our council needs both heirs to execute the ultimate transfer.”
Julian’s grip on the sidearm tightened until his knuckles turned white. “You killed my first wife.”
“We gave her a choice, just like we gave Eleanor a choice,” Arthur said dismissively. “She chose poorly. And now, you’re about to make the same mistake if you don't drop that weapon and surrender your corporate voting rights to the council right this second.”
May you like
From the shadows near the back of the hangar, the low rumble of a vehicle engine suddenly revved to life. Julian glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye and saw headlights cutting through the gloom.
---
