Chapter 10 - The Leverage Game
Liam’s weapon remained locked on Julian’s chest, but the sheer tactical disadvantage of being outnumbered in a confined hospital room with two newborn infants made every breath a calculated risk.
"Get out of this room, Julian," I said, my voice dropping into a cold, steady tone that silenced the chatter in the room. I swung my legs over the edge of the hospital bed, ignoring the sharp sting of my stitches, and stood up to face him directly. "You're standing in a restricted medical ward of a federal-protected facility."
Julian smiled, unfazed by my glare. He held up the manila folder he had brought with him.
"Federal protection is a fascinating concept, Victoria. It works wonderfully until the federal oversight committees realize that the pharmaceutical distribution warehouses your husband managed were actually secondary transport hubs for classified bio-tech shipments linked directly to my firm's overseas accounts," Julian said casually, tapping the folder against his palm. "In short: if you release the financial audit files you and Vanessa compiled, the entire U.S. distribution grid faces an immediate national security shutdown. And you, Mrs. Sterling... well, let's just say classified federal leaks carry a very heavy prison sentence."
"That's blackmail," Vanessa spat from the corner, gripping her IV pole tighter.
"It's corporate survival," Julian corrected smoothly. He walked a few steps closer, stopping just out of Liam's reach, and opened the folder, pulling out a single sheet of paper. He laid it flat on the edge of my bed, right beside my sleeping son.
I glanced down at the paper. It wasn't a legal threat or a gag order. It was a certified birth certificate amendment and a one-way international travel itinerary to Zurich, dated for tomorrow morning.
"What is this?" I demanded.
"Your ticket out," Julian said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Michael is a liability; he failed his assignment and panicked. My firm is cutting him loose permanently. But you, Victoria... you have a brilliant financial mind. I have an opening for a chief risk analyst in my Swiss division. Drop the audit, sign the transfer papers, and you, your brother, and your twins catch a private flight to Europe tomorrow. Refuse, and let's just say hospitals are notoriously difficult places to keep secure during a city-wide power outage."
Liam’s finger twitched on the trigger of his gun, the tension in the room stretching until it felt like a violin string about to snap.
"And if I say no?" I asked, looking straight into Julian's dark, calculating eyes.
Julian smiled, stepping back toward the open doorway as his armed guards kept their weapons raised.
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"Then I suggest you look out the window, Victoria," Julian said softly.
Across the street, on the roof of the multi-story parking garage opposite the hospital, a small red laser dot suddenly flickered to life—tracing a slow, deliberate path across the glass pane of my newborn daughter's bassinet.
