Chapter 8 - The Ultimatum
The police arrived twenty minutes later. Vivienne sat on the grand staircase, wrapped in a cashmere blanket, sipping a glass of bourbon. She handed the pistol to the lead detective, claiming self-defense against a rogue employee. Given her status and the security footage she carefully edited before they arrived, the police didn't ask too many questions.
But Vivienne knew this was not over. Julian was desperate. He had nothing left to lose, which made him infinitely dangerous.
She needed to end him. Not legally. Not financially. She needed to break him completely.
The next evening, Julian’s encrypted burner phone rang. He was hiding in a dilapidated warehouse in the industrial district, surrounded by three remaining loyal mercenaries.
He answered it. "You survived," Julian rasped. "You're harder to kill than a cockroach, Vivienne."
"And you are out of options, Julian," Vivienne’s voice echoed through the phone, smooth and terrifyingly calm. "The FBI has frozen your offshore accounts. Your mercenaries will abandon you the moment they realize you can't pay them."
Julian looked at his men. They were already looking at him with suspicion. "What do you want?"
"I want to offer you a way out," Vivienne said. "There is a private jet waiting at Teterboro Airport. It has enough fuel to get you to South America, and there is a briefcase with five million dollars in untraceable cash sitting on the passenger seat. You take the plane, you disappear, and you never step foot in my city again."
Julian laughed bitterly. "A peace offering? From you? It's a trap."
"It's a business transaction," Vivienne corrected. "Killing you creates a messy media spectacle. Letting you run away as a coward is cleaner for my stock price. The plane leaves in one hour. Take it or leave it."
She hung up.
May you like
Julian stared at the phone. He knew it was a trap. But looking around the freezing warehouse, he knew he was trapped anyway. Five million dollars and a plane to South America was a second chance.
"Pack your gear," Julian ordered his men. "We're going to Teterboro."
