Chapter 4 - The Fixer
I froze completely, keeping my hands raised high where the man could see them.
"My name is Claire Hale, and Arthur sent me," I said, my voice remarkably steady.
The heavy barrel of the shotgun was slowly lowered from the back of my skull.
A tall, heavily scarred man stepped out of the shadows and flipped on a single overhead light bulb.
"Arthur has been dead for eight months," Silas Vance said, narrowing his sharp gray eyes.
I pulled the cedar box from my coat and showed him the master black card.
Silas let out a low whistle and immediately locked the heavy warehouse doors behind me.
"Your grandfather was the only honorable man in a city run by absolute monsters," Silas muttered, leading me to a cluttered workbench.
He explained that he used to be Vanguard's top security fixer before he retired.
I opened the ledger and showed him the massive debts accumulated by my father and Ethan.
Silas shook his head grimly as he reviewed the stolen forty million dollars.
"They aren't just stealing money, Claire," Silas warned.
"Your father is hosting that engagement party tonight to secretly sell Vanguard's most valuable tech patent to a rival cartel."
My stomach dropped as I realized the party was a front for massive corporate treason.
"If that sale goes through, the cartel will execute your entire family to tie up loose ends," he added coldly.
I realized that despite how horribly my parents had treated me, I could not let them be murdered on Christmas.
"How do we stop the sale from happening?" I asked desperately.
Silas pulled a heavy tactical vest and two loaded pistols from a hidden weapons locker.
"The patent transfer requires a biometric founder's ring to authorize the digital signature," Silas explained.
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He looked at me with a deadly serious expression.
"Your sister Madison stole that ring from Arthur's estate, and she is wearing it on her hand right now."
