Chapter 17 - The Sterling Ultimatum
Victor Sterling remained standing by the door, his cold gray eyes scanning my office with the detached curiosity of a landlord inspecting a temporary tenant. The air in the room felt suddenly thin, charged with the latent static of an approaching storm.
“You’ve made quite a name for yourself, Dr. Vance,” Victor said smoothly, taking slow, measured steps toward my desk. “Taking down your own father, exposing Marcus Vance, dismantling regional shell networks... impressive work for someone barely thirty years old. My family almost underestimated you.”
“Almost,” I repeated, my hand resting firmly on the edge of the desk, mere inches from the security alarm toggle. “Which means you finally realized that ignoring me was a mistake.”
Victor stopped two paces away from my desk, resting his gloved hands lightly on the mahogany surface. He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice into a confidential hiss.
“Apex Global Logistics is not your concern, Elena,” Victor said, using my first name with chilling familiarity. “The accounts you were browsing on your screen five minutes ago belong to international shipping syndicates that operate far above the jurisdiction of local federal judges or campus security. If you continue digging into Apex, you won't just lose your professorship. You’ll lose your life.”
I didn't flinch. I looked straight into his predatory eyes, letting a cold, fearless smile touch my lips.
“Are you threatening a tenured professor in her own office, Mr. Sterling?” I asked, my voice ringing with absolute clarity. “Because if you are, you should know that every keystroke I make on this computer is automatically mirrored to an encrypted dead-man's switch server maintained by the FBI.”
Victor’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, a fleeting shadow of genuine surprise crossing his aristocratic features. He straightened up, adjusting his cashmere coat.
“You think you’re untouchable because the federal government gave you a medal and a chair at this university,” Victor said, his voice hardening into ice. “But governments change, administrations fall, and accidents happen every single day on icy winter roads. Here is my proposition, Dr. Vance: you delete your research files on Apex Global Logistics by midnight tonight. In exchange, the Sterling family will leave you in peace to enjoy your little academic career.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you’ll find out just how fragile an academic's life really is,” Victor replied softly. He turned on his heel, walking toward the door with unhurried arrogance. He paused with his hand on the brass doorknob, looking back over his shoulder. “Midnight, Elena. Don't make the same mistake your father did.”
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone in the silent, heated office.
May you like
My heart was pounding, but my mind was sharper than ever. I didn't reach for the panic button. Instead, I opened my laptop, typed three rapid commands into my terminal, and routed a high-priority encrypted data burst directly to Agent Vance’s private terminal.
Attached to the burst was a single message: *‘Victor Sterling just paid me a visit. The Apex Global Logistics raid needs to happen tonight.’*
