Chapter 17 - Unmasking the True Buyer
Thirty minutes later, the sub-basement was flooded with flashing red and blue lights as federal marshals and local police secured the perimeter, hauling Dmitri Rostov and his operatives away in heavy metal cuffs.
Graham and Julian walked back into the penthouse study, both soaked, bruised, but grinning with adrenaline.
“Well, Mrs. Calder,” Graham said, shaking water from his jacket like a large dog. “It seems Dmitri wasn't acting on his own accord. Look what we pulled from his encrypted tactical comms unit before the battery fried.”
Graham handed me a secure digital data card. I slid it into my desk reader, opening the encrypted message log. The last outgoing transmission wasn't sent to an offshore shell company or a rogue corporate raider.
It was sent to a private satellite relay registered directly to Victoria Thorne—Marcus Thorne’s legally recognized granddaughter, who had supposedly vanished into Europe twenty-five years ago.
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“Victoria Thorne isn't a victim seeking restitution,” Julian realized, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief. “She’s the silent partner who funded Arthur Sterling’s corporate sabotage from the very beginning.”
“And she’s not in Europe,” I added slowly, reading the geolocation metadata embedded in the transmission timestamp. “She’s currently staying at the penthouse suite of the Grand Royal Hotel, three blocks away from our corporate headquarters.”
