Chapter 5 - The Syndicate
The cellar was dead silent except for the heavy breathing of my husband and his terrified father.
The elegant man in the gray suit slowly walked forward, his expensive shoes leaving no sound on the gravel.
Adrian stepped in front of his father, desperately trying to look brave.
"Mr. Valerius," Adrian said, his voice cracking slightly. "I have her right here, just like we agreed."
Adrian pointed directly at me, offering me to a criminal cartel like a sacrificial lamb.
"She has the ten million dollar policy, and her condo is worth another two million," Adrian promised rapidly.
Valerius did not even look at Adrian; he simply kept his dark eyes fixed on my face.
"Adrian, you are a pathetic, cowardly little man," Valerius stated smoothly.
"You really thought I cared about your pitiful real estate scams?"
Valerius snapped his fingers, and one of his masked men suddenly struck Charles in the back of the knees with a rifle butt.
Charles screamed in pain, dropping his pistol as he crashed to the stone floor.
Officer Miller raised his service weapon in a panic, but three automatic rifles were instantly aimed at his head.
Miller slowly lowered his gun, raising his hands in surrender as a tactical agent kicked the weapon away.
Valerius finally stopped walking when he was less than three feet away from me.
I gripped Maya's hand tightly, bracing myself for whatever this monster was about to do.
"Your maiden name is Claire Elizabeth Vance, is it not?" Valerius asked politely.
"Yes," I answered, refusing to look away from his cold gaze.
"Your late father, Richard Vance, was a brilliant forensic accountant," Valerius continued, adjusting his silk tie.
"Ten years ago, he hid a massive, encrypted ledger containing the offshore accounts of my rival organizations."
I gasped, suddenly realizing why my father had been so paranoid during the final years of his life.
"He died before he could tell me where he hid the decryption key," Valerius explained.
"But my hackers recently discovered that the key was embedded in the original deed to your San Francisco condo."
Adrian's jaw dropped as he finally realized the true value of the property he had been trying to steal from me.
"If you surrender the condo deed to me tonight, Claire, you and your brave sister-in-law may leave here alive," Valerius offered.
I looked at Valerius, my mind racing as I calculated the incredible leverage I suddenly held.
"I don't have the deed," I lied smoothly. "It is locked in a safety deposit box, and only my biometric scan can open it."
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Valerius stared at me for a long, terrifying moment.
Before he could respond, a deafening blast from a heavy shotgun suddenly shattered the vintage wine rack directly above his head.
