Chapter 9 - The Alliance in the ShadowsAt 3:00 AM, while Catherine and Penelope finally fell into a deep, peaceful sleep in the master bedroom, I sat alone in the dark home office, glowing screen illuminating my face as I dialed a direct, encrypted satellite frequency.
The call connected on the second ring. A deep, raspy voice answered on the other end.
"I thought I told you never to call this line unless the house was burning down, Samuel," Marcus’s voice came through the speaker.
"The house isn't burning down, Marcus," I replied quietly, my eyes fixed on the photograph of the stranger in the trench coat. "The foundation is about to collapse."
There was a sharp pause on the line. "Explain."
"Daria didn't act alone two years ago when she faked Catherine's death and bought off Dr. Weston," I said, my voice ice-cold. "She had help from the Shadow Board—the old guard of Kincaid Enterprises. People who control the offshore accounts and the black-ops contracts."
Marcus let out a low whistle. "If the Shadow Board is involved, arresting your mother was just step one. They're going to try to clean house. And that means you, Catherine, and the baby are primary liabilities."
"I know," I said, opening a secure digital vault on my laptop. "That's why we're going to beat them at their own game. I'm transferring fifty million dollars in liquid assets from the corporate contingency fund to an off-grid account. I want you to buy a safehouse in the Swiss Alps—completely untraceable, biometric locks, full security detail."
"And what about you?" Marcus asked sharply. "You're going to stay and fight them in the boardroom?"
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I looked toward the bedroom door, where the faint, gentle breathing of my wife and daughter could barely be heard over the hum of the air conditioner.
"No, Marcus," I said, a dangerous, unwavering resolve settling deep into my bones. "I'm not going to fight them in the boardroom. I'm going to hunt them down one by one, until there isn't a single monster left in this family."
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