Chapter 18 - The KingmakerThat evening, inside a heavily fortified penthouse overlooking Central Park, Marcus, Ethan, and Clara met with Director Harrison of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"What do you know about 'The Kingmaker'?" Ethan asked, placing the photograph on the glass coffee table.
Director Harrison sighed heavily, taking off his glasses. "The Kingmaker is a ghost, Ethan. Real name unknown, identity scrubbed from every global intelligence database. He operates out of shadow banking networks in offshore territories, funding political coups, corporate takeovers, and criminal syndicates across three continents."
"And Eleanor owed him?" Clara asked, her voice tight.
"Eleanor borrowed over two billion dollars from his syndicate twenty-five years ago to fund the original hostile takeover of the Vance Corporation," Harrison revealed. "When you dismantled Sterling Global’s shadow ledger, you froze two billion dollars of his liquid capital."
Suddenly, the high-definition TV monitor on the living room wall turned on by itself, buzzing with heavy static!
The static cleared to reveal the silhouette of a man sitting in a darkened leather armchair, his face entirely concealed by shadows, a heavy gold signet ring sparkling on his finger.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling," a smooth, cultured European voice spoke through the speakers. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
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Ethan stepped directly in front of Clara and the monitor. "If you think you can threaten my family, you're mistaken."
The shadowed figure let out a deep, amused chuckle. "Threaten? No, Ethan. I don't make threats. I execute transactions. You destroyed my vessel, Eleanor. Therefore, you will pay her debt. You have forty-eight hours to transfer control of Sterling Global's European trade routes to my account... or I will dismantle your world piece by piece."
