Chapter 6 - The Hunt in the Shadows
The heavy rain hammered against the glass awning of the private terminal at Teterboro Airport.
Lucy Grant paced inside the cramped executive lounge, clutching her leather weekend bag with trembling, white-knuckled hands.
Her phone buzzed violently on the glass table, displaying an encrypted caller ID registered in Zurich.
She snatched the phone up, pressing the receiver tightly against her ear as her breathing turned shallow.
"Richard, she knows everything," Lucy whispered frantically into the mic.
"Victoria found the lab slip behind the frame, and she revoked every single access card tied to the Cole accounts!"
On the other end of the line, the deep, raspy voice of Richard Cole chuckled with cold, unbothered detachment.
"I told you never to keep physical records inside that apartment, you stupid girl."
"You gave me that envelope to show Ethan when his mother demanded proof of the family line!" Lucy shrieked, tears smearing her mascara across her cheeks.
"You promised me two million dollars and a safe villa in Monaco once the trust unlocked!"
"Plans change when foot soldiers fail their primary objective," Richard replied smoothly.
"Ethan is ruined, Diane is worthless, and my sources tell me federal marshals are already pulling my overseas wire transfers."
"You can't abandon me here! Victoria’s private security is tracking my phone!"
A chilling click sounded over the line, followed by the hollow dial tone of an abrupt disconnection.
Lucy gasped, lowering the phone as the glass doors of the terminal lounge slid open with a whisper.
Nathan Hayes walked into the room, flanked by two armed federal transport officers in dark trench coats.
Nathan held a signed warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
"Miss Lucy Grant, also known as Lucille Miller," Nathan said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion.
"You are under arrest for interstate wire fraud, identity theft, and corporate extortion."
Lucy backed against the velvet armchair, shaking her head in blind panic.
"I was just following orders! Richard Cole planned the entire thing from London!"
"You can share every detail of Richard's itinerary with the United States Attorney, Miss Grant," Nathan replied.
The two officers stepped forward, catching Lucy’s wrists and securing them behind her back with polished steel cuffs.
Her phone fell onto the carpeted floor, its screen still glowing with the incoming flight alerts she would never board.
Nathan bent down, picked up the phone with an evidence bag, and dialed Victoria’s secure line.
"The pawn is secured, Victoria."
"Richard cut her loose thirty seconds ago, exactly as you predicted."
Across town in her penthouse study, Victoria Hale looked out over the rain-slicked avenues below.
"Offer her the standard federal plea terms, Nathan."
"If she surrenders Richard's encrypted bank routing numbers, she avoids twenty years in maximum security."
"And what about Ethan and his mother?" Nathan inquired through the receiver.
Victoria turned her gaze toward a fresh stack of legal notices waiting on her desk.
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"Let them spend the night in the cold."
"Desperation will make them walk straight into the courtroom on their own two feet."
