Chapter 31 - The Intelligence Intercept
Deep in the subterranean command center of the Mercer estate, the red diagnostic monitors flashed silently. Security chief Marcus stared at the real-time audio transcript streaming across his monitor, his face draining of color. He hit the emergency intercom link leading directly to Josiah’s private study.
"Boss. You need to hear this right now."
Within thirty seconds, Josiah strode into the command center, his expression carved from granite. He threw on his noise-canceling headset and listened to the recorded conversation between Alexei Rostov and Yuri. Every word of their plot against the upcoming charity gala echoed in his ears.
When the audio file ended, the room was suffocatingly silent.
"They're targeting the gala next weekend," Marcus said quietly, his hand resting near his sidearm. "Shall we mobilize the tactical strike teams and hit their position in the container yards tonight before they can mobilize?"
"No," Josiah said, his voice cold, flat, and carrying the terrifying stillness of a dormant volcano about to erupt. "If we hit them in the yards, they scatter into the underground shadows again. They become ghosts. I want them out in the open."
Marcus blinked, stunned. "Boss, you're talking about walking into their trap at the Grand Regency."
"It’s not a trap, Marcus," Josiah corrected, a dark, dangerous glint appearing in his eyes. "It’s an execution. They want a public stage? I’ll give them a stage. But this time, the rules are mine."
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Josiah turned on his heel and walked out of the command center, heading straight upstairs. He didn't want to alarm Willow just yet—she had spent the entire week preparing the keynote presentation for the foundation’s most ambitious youth literacy initiative to date. But as he stood outside the study door, listening to her laughing on the phone with the regional hospital director, he made a silent vow.
No one—absolutely no one—would ever threaten his family or the life they had built.
