Chapter 17 - THE CLOCK MECHANISMThere was no time to waste. The countdown timer on the screen hit 03:45 and kept ticking down.
Arthur scooped Leo up in one arm, sprinting out of the private study and down the grand hallway to the massive mahogany grandfather clock that had stood in the Sterling estate for over a century.
Dropping to his knees, Arthur slid his fingers along the base of the heavy wooden structure. He pressed against the carved oak paneling just as Leo described.
Click.
The magnetic latch gave way. A hidden compartment swung open, revealing a sleek, military-grade satellite phone flashing a green LED light—connected directly to Julian Thorne’s active encrypted frequency.
Arthur grabbed the phone. The screen was unlocked, displaying an active satellite call linked straight to the warehouse where Marcus was being held hostage.
Without thinking, Arthur pressed the speaker button and brought the phone to his ear.
"...three minutes left, Arthur!" Julian’s voice blared simultaneously from the study computer down the hall and directly through the satellite handset in Arthur’s hand. "Are you going to sign, or do I need to give your lawyer a permanent permanent sleep?"
Arthur stood up slowly, holding the satellite phone to his mouth. The panic in his chest had completely vanished, replaced by an ice-cold, razor-sharp focus.
"Julian," Arthur said, his voice echoing through the grand hallway with terrifying calm. "You made one fatal mistake."
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On the other end of the line, Julian’s triumphant laughter stuttered for a fraction of a second. "What are you babbling about, Arthur? You're out of time!"
"You forgot that I built this house from the ground up," Arthur replied, a dark, menacing smile curving his lips. "And you forgot that every single secure communication device in this estate is hardwired into the federal intelligence database through my defense contracts."
