Chapter 6 - Ghost of the FamilyThe private jet breached the clouds at Mach 2, tearing through the night sky toward the French Riviera. Inside the luxury cabin, the atmosphere was as cold as a morgue. A live bio-monitor feed of baby Leo was displayed on the central screen, showing his heart rate spiking dangerously while Dr. Chen struggled to keep him stable.
Julian stood at the bar, pouring two fingers of neat scotch, but he didn't drink. He just stared at the glowing amber liquid.
Maria walked up behind him, wearing an elegant dark red evening dress with a deep slit on the side—perfect for hiding a compact pistol and high-tech lockpicks. She was preparing for their entry into Countess Sophia’s exclusive masquerade gala at the Casino de Monte-Carlo.
"We have three hours before Leo’s bio-markers hit the point of irreversible organ damage," Maria stated, her voice tight with suppressed emotion. "Sophia’s gala is guarded by top-tier European mercenaries. She won't just hand over the antidote."
"She will," Julian said, turning around. His face was an unreadable mask of absolute ruthlessness. "Because if she doesn't, I will reveal to the international police the full ledger of her human trafficking and weapons smuggling operations."
"Julian..." Maria hesitated, looking at him with genuine concern. "There’s something else. My intelligence team dug deeper into the crash that supposedly killed Alexander three years ago."
Julian raised an eyebrow. "What did they find?"
"The DNA found in the burning jet wreckage... it wasn't Alexander’s," Maria revealed softly. "It belonged to a low-level homeless man from Geneva. Alexander faked his death with Sophia’s direct help. They’ve been building this network together for over four years."
Julian set his glass down so hard the crystal cracked. "So my own brother watched me mourn him, watched me build Vance Global, waited for me to have a child... just so he could strip it all away at my weakest moment."
"He underestimated you," Maria said, stepping close to him and laying a firm hand on his arm. "He thought love would make you weak. He thought baby Leo was your vulnerability."
Julian looked into Maria’s eyes, finding an unyielding strength that matched his own. "He was wrong. My son isn't my weakness. He’s my reason for burning every enemy to ash."
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The pilot’s voice came over the intercom: "Mr. Vance, we are on final approach to Nice. Helicopter transport to Monaco is standing by."
Julian checked the sleek tactical knife strapped inside his tuxedo jacket. "Let's go get our son's life back."
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