Chapter 26 - The Ghost of Zurich
I lowered my gun by an inch, my mind struggling to process the impossible image standing before me in the freezing coastal mist.
"Elena," I whispered, the name feeling foreign and heavy on my tongue. "You're dead. I saw the wreckage. I paid for the crypt."
Elena stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the damp moss. She didn't look like a ghost; she looked alive, sharp, and terrifyingly composed, wearing an immaculate black trench coat that defied the rough terrain of the cliffs.
"Death is such a convenient bureaucratic tool when you need to disappear from a monster like your brother, Julian," Elena said smoothly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Vincent wanted control of the syndicate, but he wasn't smart enough to build it alone. He needed a scapegoat. And who better than a dead fiancée to take the blame for an underground empire's expansion?"
The pieces clicked together with brutal, sickening clarity.
"You didn't run away... you orchestrated it," I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register. "You and Vincent worked together from the very beginning."
"Not together," Elena corrected, a cold smirk touching her lips. "We had an arrangement. Vincent wanted power; I wanted freedom. But Vincent got greedy. He tried to keep Chloe locked away like a prisoner, treating her like a chess piece instead of a daughter. That’s why I had Grace smuggle herself into your mansion six months ago. I needed someone inside to watch over her until I could finish setting up the board."
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"You used your own daughter as a pawn," I snarled, stepping forward, the fury in my veins burning hot enough to melt the cold air around us.
"I used your empire to secure her future," Elena snapped back, her eyes flashing with sudden venom. "And now, Julian, you're going to sign over the European shipping lanes to my offshore accounts, or the sniper currently locked onto the sunroom window takes out your precious little housekeeper and your daughter before you can even blink."
