Chapter 16 - The Ultimatum
"MOM!" Alexander screamed into the phone, his voice cracking with a terror he had never experienced in his entire life.
On the screen, Evelyn didn't flinch. She took another slow, calm sip of her tea, then looked up at the camera lens with eyes that were entirely unafraid.
"Don't shout, Alex," Evelyn said quietly, her voice steady and composed. "A mother always knows when the wolves are coming back to the door."
"Evelyn, darling," Elena’s voice chimed in from off-screen, dripping with mocking sweetness. "You have exactly twenty minutes to walk out of that front door alone, without your guards, without your weapons, and drive to the old railway station where you and Richard used to play house."
"If you harm a hair on her head—" Alexander began, his voice trembling with a rage so profound it defied human bounds.
"If I don't hear from you in twenty minutes," Elena interrupted coldly, "the old woman stops drinking tea. And your precious empire becomes your tomb. Tic-toc, Alexander."
The screen went black.
The call disconnected.
Alexander stood frozen in the center of the panic room, staring at the dead screen. For the first time since he was a little boy standing in a tin-roofed shack by the tracks, he felt utterly, terrifyingly helpless.
Marcus stepped forward, his face grim and resolute. "Sir, we can mobilize the tactical response team. We have sniper positions covering the perimeter—"
"No," Alexander said, his voice dropping into a terrifyingly calm register. He slid his pistol back into his holster and picked up his heavy wool coat. "If we move on them, she dies before we clear the garden."
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"You can't walk into a trap alone, Mr. Reed," Marcus argued, his voice laced with fierce loyalty. "That's a suicide mission."
"It's not a suicide mission, Marcus," Alexander said, turning around with a gaze so lethal it made the veteran guard step back. "It's a family reunion. And I'm going to finish it myself."
