Chapter 9 - The Sky Confrontation
I unholstered my weapon and signaled the Army Rangers to move toward the cargo bay hatch.
The heavy metal doors were completely sealed, but the tracking signal was undeniable.
Victoria had somehow managed to infiltrate a secure military staging area during the chaos.
Two Rangers breached the hatch, aiming their rifles into the dimly lit storage compartment.
Victoria was huddled behind a stack of ammunition crates, clutching a heavy designer suitcase.
She looked absolutely terrified, her elegant clothes stained with grease and dirt.
I stepped down into the cargo hold and ordered the soldiers to stand down.
I walked up to my former mother-in-law and grabbed the expensive suitcase from her trembling hands.
I opened it, expecting to find the digital hardware containing the stolen millions.
Instead, the suitcase was entirely empty except for a single, blinking burner phone.
Victoria wept bitterly, confessing that she had been kidnapped from the estate hours ago.
The men who took her had forced her to carry the tracking device onto the military transport.
They wanted me to waste valuable time chasing a decoy while the true thief escaped.
I realized with absolute clarity that General Vance had orchestrated this final distraction from his holding cell.
He had initiated a massive, automated wire transfer to a private jet waiting at a nearby executive airstrip.
I ordered the helicopter pilot to immediately change course and intercept the rogue aircraft.
We arrived at the airstrip just as the sleek private jet began taxiing down the runway.
The pilot positioned our massive Black Hawk directly in the flight path, forcing the jet to abruptly halt.
I leaped from the helicopter, flanked by a squad of heavily armed soldiers.
The door of the private jet slowly swung open, revealing the person who had truly orchestrated the entire financial conspiracy.
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It was Charles Vance, Arthur's quiet, supposedly clueless father, holding a laptop computer and smiling directly at me.
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a hand grenade, threatening to destroy the laptop and the money forever.
