Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Boardroom
I flattened myself behind the heavy velvet blackout curtains beside the floor-to-ceiling window, barely daring to breathe. Every muscle in my body coiled tight as the study door swung open.
Julian and Vanessa walked in, their voices carrying the casual intimacy of seasoned criminals.
""Everything is set with Sterling,"" Julian said, his voice mere feet away from where I was concealed. I could smell the familiar sandalwood cologne he wore every day—the scent I used to find comforting. ""He received the wire transfer of two million into his offshore account. He’s already prepped the surgical bay behind the aesthetic clinic.""
Vanessa chuckled, a low, sultry sound that made my skin crawl. ""And what about Sofia? Did she suspect anything when Marcus dropped her off last night?""
""Sofia doesn't suspect a thing,"" Julian scoffed, the sound of drawers opening and papers rustling filling the room. ""She spent the morning crying about her headaches and thanking me for taking care of her. The woman is pathetic, Vanessa. She spent her whole life calculating numbers on spreadsheets while her father’s trust sat untouched. She doesn't even know how to spend real money. In twenty-four hours, she'll be a tragic medical memory, and we’ll be drinking Bellinis over Lake Geneva.""
""I took the liberty of packing your luxury watches from your safe at the condo,"" Vanessa purred. ""Marcus has the cooler loaded in the back of the Escalade. Let’s get out of here before traffic backs up on the tollway.""
I watched through the hairline crack in the velvet drapes as Julian pulled Vanessa into his arms and kissed her passionately right over the desk where my forged death certificates lay.
""To our new life,"" Julian murmured against her lips.
""To our fortune,"" Vanessa replied with a wicked smile.
They grabbed a leather briefcase and walked out of the study. A few seconds later, the heavy front door clicked shut, followed by the electronic lock beeping twice.
I didn't move for three full minutes until the service elevator indicator lights down the hall shifted to the ground floor.
I stepped out from behind the curtain, my shirt damp with cold sweat, but my mind operating with surgical clarity. I checked the external drive in my pocket. The cloned data was 100% intact. I had their schedules, their wire transfers, their bank accounts, their encrypted correspondence, and the names of every corrupt doctor, pilot, and facilitator involved in the syndicate.
I slipped out of the apartment through the emergency stairwell, avoiding the lobby cameras, and emerged into the brisk afternoon air.
I got straight into Caleb’s waiting town car around the corner.
""Did you get it?"" Caleb asked urgently, shifting the car into gear.
I placed the thumb drive on the dashboard. ""I have everything. They’re moving the execution to tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. at Dr. Sterling’s private clinic in Plano. Marcus is driving the extraction vehicle, and Julian and Vanessa are flying out on a private charter from Denton Airport at 4:00 p.m.""
Caleb’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. ""Then we don't wait for forty-eight hours. We move tonight. I’ve already contacted Special Agent Miller at the FBI Dallas Field Office. When he saw the initial toxicology screens and cross-border organ trafficking manifests this morning, he mobilized an inter-agency strike force.""
""No,"" I said, looking out at the glittering glass skyscrapers of the city. ""The FBI waits until the trap is sprung. If we arrest them tonight at the condo, Julian’s defense attorneys will claim the digital files were planted and that the medical waivers were routine. I want Marcus with the narcotics in his hand. I want Dr. Sterling standing over the surgical table with the syringe. And I want Julian and Vanessa standing at the tarmac with the cash.""
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Caleb turned to look at me, a mixture of awe and caution in his eyes. ""Sofia... that means you have to get back in that SUV with Marcus tomorrow morning.""
I adjusted my sunglasses, my expression carved from granite. ""Let him try to drug me again. This time, I’m the one setting the dosage.""
