Chapter 6 - Shadows in GenevaSix thousand miles away from the chaos of Manhattan, along the misty, slate-grey shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, a solitary figure walked beneath the heavy canopy of an autumn rain.
Aiden Vance—senior partner at Vance & Sterling International Law and the man who had personally overseen the dismantling of Damian Moretti’s European holding accounts—pulled his heavy wool trench coat tighter against the alpine chill.
He stopped near a wrought-iron bench overlooking the water, pulling out a secure, encrypted satellite phone.
The call connected on the first ring.
"Report," a deep, gravelly voice echoed from the other end of the line—Vincent Ashcroft.
"The last of the Swiss numbered accounts has been successfully liquidated and transferred into the primary Ashcroft trust," Aiden reported, his breath pluming in the cold air. "Not a single franc remains tied to the Moretti name. As far as the Swiss banking commission is concerned, Damian Moretti never existed outside of a temporary custodial proxy."
A low, gravelly chuckle rumbled through the speaker.
"And the boy?" Vincent asked, a rare note of genuine warmth touching his formidable tone.
"Thriving," Aiden smiled slightly. "I saw him via secure video feed yesterday. He has Saraphina’s eyes. Calm, calculating, and completely unintimidated by the room he’s in."
"Good," Vincent muttered. "Keep an eye on the European appellate courts. Damian’s defense team is trying a desperate habeas corpus motion, claiming jurisdictional overreach. They think they can appeal to old-guard European syndicates who used to do business with Moretti."
Aiden scoffed softly, watching a ferry glide silently across the misty surface of the lake.
"Let them try," Aiden said. "They’re chasing phantoms. Every single associate, partner, and offshore contact who ever took a bribe from Damian has already been neutralized or flipped by our intelligence division. They’re swimming in an ocean they thought they owned, completely unaware that we own the water."
May you like
"Keep it that way," Vincent ordered before the line clicked dead.
Aiden slipped the phone back into his coat pocket, turned his back to the lake, and walked away into the Geneva mist, leaving no trace behind him—just like the family he served.
