Chapter 9 - Reckoning at Dawn

Both Sterling and Elena spun around so fast Elena's wineglass slipped from her fingers, shattering against the Persian rug in a splash of dark red.

Color drained completely from Sterling's face. He stared at me as if I were a ghost risen from the grave. "Julian... how did you—"

"Your men gave you up, Victor," I said, stepping fully into the study and raising the Sig Sauer. The suppressor looked like an extension of my arm—deadly, unwavering, and absolute. "They told me everything before I put them to sleep."

Sterling frantically reached for the golden-plated revolver resting on his mahogany desk, but before his fingers could graze the grip, my pistol barked once. The bullet punched through the wooden desktop an inch from his hand, sending splinters flying into his palm. Sterling shrieked and snatched his hand back, pressing it against his chest.

"Try it again, Victor," I whispered, closing the distance between us. "I promise the next one won't miss your hand."

Elena backed slowly toward the corner of the room, her eyes wide with animal panic. "Julian, please! We can make a deal! Millions of dollars—we can transfer it all to you! You and Violet can live anywhere in the world!"

"You think this is about money?" I asked, my voice trembling with a rage so cold it felt like absolute zero. "You put your hands on my little girl. You walked into my home, accepted her hospitality, and tried to murder her in cold blood for corporate ledgers."

"She saw too much!" Elena screamed defensively. "She came home early from school while Derek was casing the study! We had no choice!"

"You always have a choice," I said.

I didn't shoot them. Death was too easy for what they had done. Instead, I holstered my sidearm, pulled out my heavy combat knife, and drove the blade deep into the mahogany desktop right between Sterling's trembling hands.

"You're going to sit at this desk right now," I told them, my voice echoing like thunder in the silent room. "You're going to transfer every single cent of Apex Global's liquid assets into a designated trust fund for Violet's medical care and future. Then, you are going to write a full, unredacted confession detailing every illegal operation, assassination, and bribe your company has committed over the last decade, and transmit it directly to the Department of Justice, Interpol, and every major news outlet in the country."

"And if we refuse?" Sterling stammered, sweat pouring down his forehead.

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"Then I leave this room, and I let my former teammates in the Vanguard Group handle you the way we handle international war criminals," I said softly. "Trust me, Victor. You'd prefer the federal prison system."

By sunrise, the financial transfers were complete, the confessions were broadcast to every federal agency, and federal agents were already pounding on the front gates of the estate to arrest Sterling and Elena on federal treason and conspiracy charges.