Chapter 8 - THE ARRIVAL OF THE PATRIARCHBack inside the grand ballroom, the heavy silence was broken by the frantic ringing of a secure satellite phone resting on the podium.
Valeria picked it up immediately, pressing the speakerphone button so that everyone in the room could hear.
"Report!" an enraged, gravelly voice barked through the phone line. It was Alberto Ferrer, the patriarch of the family, a man whose word had once dictated the economic life and death of the entire region. "What is the meaning of this lockdown? My captain of the guard is unresponsive! Who authorized this?"
A collective gasp rippled through the ballroom. The mere sound of Alberto Ferrer's voice still commanded terror among the elites.
Valeria stepped over to where Nicolás was still pinned to the floor by the kinetic restraining cable. She pressed her heel gently against his chest, causing Nicolás to gasp for air.
"Hello, Alberto," Valeria said, her voice dripping with lethal sweetness. "I’m afraid your security team is currently taking a very deep, very peaceful nap outside."
There was a tense, deadly silence on the other end of the line.
"Valeria?" Alberto’s voice dropped an octave, dripping with sudden, venomous realization. "Alexander Vance’s daughter... You survived the shipwreck."
"Survived? No, Alberto. We evolved," Valeria replied coldly. "Your son thought he could teach me a lesson tonight. He thought a slap across the face would remind me of my place. Instead, it reminded me of mine: at the very top of your rotting empire."
"You arrogant little whore!" Alberto roared through the speaker, losing all composure. "If you touch a single hair on my son’s head, I will hunt down every remaining trace of your bloodline and wipe you from the earth! My corporate allies in the federal government will have you executed for domestic terrorism by morning!"
Valeria laughed—a cold, beautiful sound that echoed chillingly off the marble walls.
"Federal government allies?" Valeria raised an eyebrow, signaling to the tech specialist off-stage. "Oh, Alberto. You might want to turn on your television right now."
On the massive projection screen behind the stage, the live CNN and Bloomberg news broadcasts suddenly flickered to life. Breaking news headlines flashed in blazing red:
BREAKING: FEDERAL ANTI-CORRUPTION TASK FORCE RAIDS FERRER HOLDINGS HEADQUARTERS. MASSIVE OFFSHORE ASSETS FROZEN; PATRIARCH ALBERTO FERRER FACES MULTIPLE COUNTS OF TREASON AND EXTORTION.
Through the phone line, the sound of heavy federal battering rams smashing through solid oak doors echoed loudly in Alberto Ferrer’s private study miles away.
May you like
"No..." Alberto whispered, his voice trembling for the first time in his life. "No, that's impossible... I bought the director!"
"Not anymore," Valeria said softly. "We bought him out for twice as much, an hour ago."
