Chapter 7 - The Road to ZurichBy nightfall, the news of the Vance wedding disaster had taken over every global media outlet.
"MASSACRE AT VANCE WEDDING: BRIDE'S SECRET LEAKED, UNCLE FOUND IN CRITICAL CONDITION, HEIR MISSING."
Julian and I were sitting in the back of a blacked-out SUV driving through the winding mountain roads of Switzerland toward Zurich. Rain lashed violently against the bulletproof windows, flashing in sync with the distant lightning over the Alps.
Julian was driving, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. A white bandage was wrapped tightly around his bleeding temple.
I sat in the passenger seat, staring at the micro-chip key resting in my palm, glowing with a faint blue standby light.
"How far is the bank?" I asked softly, breaking the hours of silence.
"Thirty minutes," Julian replied without taking his eyes off the rain-slicked highway. "My family's private security team secured the Swiss vault protocol two hours ago. Once we enter the vault, the evidence against Marcus and your father's estate will be uploaded directly to Interpol."
I leaned my head against the cold glass window. "My whole life was a lie, Julian. Every memory I have with my father... every holiday, every birthday... it was all calculated. I wasn't his beloved daughter. I was a legal asset."
Julian reached across the center console, wrapping his large, warm hand around mine, his fingers intertwining with mine.
"You're not an asset to me, Liana," he said, his voice deep and thick with raw emotion. "Four years ago, when your father introduced us, I was told I had to marry a Vance. I saw Elena... but then I saw you sitting in the corner of that library, reading quietly, completely unbothered by the high-society fake smiles."
He flicked his eyes toward me, a small, tender smile touching his lips despite the dark circumstances.
"I fell in love with you that day, Liana. But your mother told me you were bound to another man in Europe. She told me if I tried to approach you, she would disown you and ruin your life. I married Elena to stay close to the family... to stay close to you."
Tears welling in my eyes, I squeezed his hand tightly. "I thought you hated me, Julian. Every time you entered a room, you avoided looking at me."
"Because every time I looked at you, I wanted to tear up the contract and run away with you," Julian whispered. "I couldn't risk them hurting you."
Suddenly, a loud metallic thud echoed from the rear of the SUV.
The vehicle lurched violently forward. Tires screeched as the back end swerved out of control on the wet asphalt.
"Hold on!" Julian yelled, gripping the wheel with both hands and counter-steering as the headlights of a massive, armored black truck filled our rearview mirror.
The truck rammed us again from behind, forcing our SUV toward the edge of the mountain cliffside.
"It's Marcus's men!" I gasped, clutching the dashboard. "How did they track us?!"
"The key!" Julian realized, looking at the glowing micro-chip key in my hand. "It has a GPS beacon built into the biometric circuit! They've been tracking the signal since we left the cathedral!"
The armored truck swerved alongside us, smashing heavy metal plating directly into our driver's side door. The glass cracked into a spiderweb matrix.
Through the tinted window of the truck, I saw the face of the driver.
May you like
It wasn't Marcus's mercenaries.
It was my mother's personal head of security—the man who had worked for our family for twenty years.
