Chapter 14 - The Final Ignition
A harsh, mechanical buzzer echoed through the damp pump house as a digital countdown flashed across the console screens: T-minus 60 seconds.
Red emergency strobe lights flooded the room, painting the concrete walls in a frantic, bloody glow. Eleanor laughed hysterically, backing toward the rear escape hatch that led directly to a waiting Zodiac boat bobbing in the dark cove outside.
"You can't stop the detonation code, Dominic! The entire shipping terminal—and your precious family trust archives—will be erased by morning!"
Dominic didn't chase her. He didn't fire his weapon. Instead, he pulled a small, encrypted override key from his inner pocket and plugged it directly into the master terminal interface.
The countdown froze at 00:14.
Eleanor stopped dead at the threshold of the escape hatch, her jaw dropping in sheer disbelief. "No... that's impossible! That frequency is encrypted behind three military firewalls!"
"You forgot one basic rule, Eleanor," Dominic said softly, walking slowly toward her as the red emergency strobes shifted back to steady white light. "I didn't inherit the Newport terminals. I rewrote their security architecture from scratch the day I took over the family throne."
Panic seized Eleanor. She lunged for the manual override lever, but before her fingers could touch the metal, heavy boots slammed against the concrete floor behind her.
Marcus stepped out of the shadows of the exit tunnel, a pair of heavy tactical cuffs already gleaming in his hand. With a swift, practiced motion, Marcus grabbed Eleanor’s arms, wrenched them behind her back, and slammed her wrists into the steel cuffs.
"Clear of the perimeter, Boss," Marcus reported calmly. "Coast Guard interceptors have her Zodiac surrounded in the cove."
Dominic stopped just inches away from the captured fugitive, looking down at her with absolute, chilling detachment.
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"Your little family game is over, Eleanor," Dominic stated. "You’re going to federal prison to join your niece. And every single asset remaining under the Vance name is now forfeit to the Mercer Foundation."
As Marcus hauled the screaming, thrashing woman out toward the waiting marine patrol, Dominic stood alone in the center of the terminal, looking out over the quiet, secure ocean waves.
