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The interior of the MTA bus spun into a nauseating kaleidoscope of red taillights, glaring fluorescent bulbs, and terrified faces. Claire’s vision tunneled as another vicious wave of contractions ripped through her abdomen, tearing a raw, breathless sob from her throat. She was sinking sideways onto the rubber-matted floor, her soaked coat offering zero protection against the freezing draft sweeping through the doors. / Chapter 16 / 20

Chapter 16 - The Counter-Strike

Julian’s private office on the fortieth floor was dead silent. The panoramic windows overlooked a grey, overcast Manhattan skyline. Julian stood by the glass, his hands buried in his pockets, staring at the ticker tape flashing red on his monitor.

The door clicked open, and Claire stepped inside, her face set like stone.

"It was Victoria," Claire said immediately, closing the heavy oak door behind her. "She’s been coordinating with disgruntled former board members like Henderson to fabricate this SEC leak."

Julian slowly turned around. There was no panic in his dark eyes—only a cold, terrifying fury that burned like white-hot phosphorus. "I know," he said softly.

Claire blinked, surprised. "You knew?"

"I’ve known she was trying to dig up dirt for weeks," Julian replied, walking toward his desk and picking up a thick, leather-bound file. He tossed it onto the glass surface. "I simply let her think she found something valuable. Cousin Victoria has always suffered from a fatal lack of patience."

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My hand froze inches from the cold steel of the Sig Sauer P226. Beneath the amber glow of the bedside lamp, the source of the warmth against my side wasn't an assassin, an operative from a rival syndicate, or a traitorous lieutenant.

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The silence in the master bedroom stretched so tight I could hear the slow, heavy drip of my own pulse in my ears. Dominic Rossi’s dark eyes locked onto mine, burning with a feverish intensity that should have sent me running back down the hallway and out into the rain

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He opened the file, revealing a web of illegal wire transfers, shell companies registered in the Cayman Islands, and signed confessions from Henderson.

"She didn't just leak documents, Claire," Julian continued, a lethal smirk touching his lips. "She actively forged corporate signatures to frame us. And as of ten minutes ago, federal investigators armed with warrants signed by my personal legal team have raided her townhouse."

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