Chapter 15 - The Unseen Adversary
I stared at the letter, the blood rushing in my ears like a roaring freight train.
An automated contingency file. Richard Sterling was safe overseas, yet he was still trying to blackmail the very woman who had put his sister behind bars.
I picked up my secure desk phone and dialed Agent Vance’s private line.
“Agent Vance,” I said instantly when he picked up, my voice cold and razor-sharp. “We have an emergency.”
Thirty minutes later, Vincent and Agent Vance were standing in my office, staring down at the handwritten letter spread across my desk.
“Richard Sterling,” Agent Vance muttered, his brow furrowing deeply. “We thought he fled to a non-extradition nation two years ago. How did he smuggle this past federal mail screening?”
“Through diplomatic courier loops,” I replied, standing up and pacing toward the window overlooking the rainy Manhattan street. “He wants an arrangement. He wants me to use the foundation’s influence to petition the federal prosecutor for a lesser sentence for Eleanor, in exchange for wiping the contingency file.”
“And if you refuse?” Vincent asked quietly, his hand resting instinctively on the back of my chair.
“If I refuse, his automated server releases a fabricated dossier to international financial regulators, freezing the foundation’s accounts and triggering a public scandal that destroys everything we built for the boys,” I said, turning back to face them.
Agent Vance crossed his arms, his expression grim. “We can issue an Interpol red notice and pressure local authorities.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head firmly. “Richard is playing chess from a safe distance, and if we react with standard law enforcement channels, we walk straight into his trap. He wants us to panic.”
“Then what do you propose we do, Claire?” Vincent asked, watching me with a mixture of respect and intense devotion.
May you like
I walked back to my desk, picked up a secure encrypted tablet, and activated the terminal connection to the foundation’s cyber-security network.
“We don’t panic,” I said, a cold, calculated smile touching my lips. “We counter-attack. Richard thinks he’s the untouchable puppet master. Let’s show him what happens when you threaten a Moretti.”
