Chapter 7 - The Secret Safety Deposit Box at Swiss Union
The digital clock on my dashboard read 8:15 PM as my bulletproof town car pulled silently into the subterranean vault of the Swiss Union Bank downtown. I had ignored Viktor's demand to come completely unprotected; instead, I had spent the last two hours activating every hidden contingency plan my father had secretly put in place before his death.
Marcus Vance stood waiting by the reinforced steel security doors, holding a heavy titanium key.
'Are you absolutely certain about this, Claire?' Marcus asked, his face etched with deep anxiety. 'If Viktor has your uncle, walking into that penthouse alone is suicide. Let me send a tactical team in ahead of you.'%
'No,' I said, stepping out into the cold, sterile light of the vault. 'If Viktor sees a tactical team, he kills my uncle or destroys the shares before we can secure them. I need to play his game long enough to turn the board.'%
Marcus sighed, handing me the titanium key. 'Your father told me once that you were the only person in the family who inherited his icy nerves. I pray to God he was right.'%
I inserted the heavy key into Safe Deposit Box 409. With a satisfying mechanical clunk, the massive electronic lock disengaged. I pulled the steel drawer out. Inside sat a thick leather-bound ledger, a modern flash drive, and a handwritten letter sealed in a yellowed envelope bearing my father's unmistakable cursive handwriting.
I tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper: *Claire, if you are reading this, it means Viktor Vance has surfaced and revealed that your Uncle Thomas is still alive. Do not trust Viktor. The yacht fire twenty years ago wasn't an accident; Viktor staged it to steal Thomas's shares, and I helped Thomas fake his death to keep him safe from Viktor's syndicate. The flash drive in this box contains the encrypted financial records proving Viktor's racketeering operation. Use it to destroy him before he destroys us.*
A wave of profound shock washed over me. Everything I thought I knew about my family's history was a carefully constructed illusion. My father hadn't exiled his brother out of greed; he had hidden him to save his life.
I pocketed the flash drive and grabbed the leather ledger. 'Marcus, contact Interpol's financial crimes division. Tell them to execute the international arrest warrant for Viktor Vance using the encryption keys on this drive.'%
'And what about your dinner date at the Grand Continental?' Marcus asked.
May you like
A cold, dangerous smile touched my lips. 'I'm going to keep my appointment. But Viktor is about to find out that I brought a very special guest of my own.'
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