Chapter 26 - The Unwelcome Caller
Ethan walked out from the communications room, his fingers flying across the console to pull up the external gate camera feed.
“We’ve got a visitor,” Ethan said, his voice dropping into a tense, controlled register. “And he didn't come in a tactical van.”
On the main monitor, a single, polished black luxury sedan rolled slowly up the sandy driveway of the beach house, stopping twenty yards from the front porch. The headlights flickered off, and the driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out into the damp morning air, wearing an impeccably tailored charcoal suit that looked entirely out of place against the windswept dunes. He didn't carry a weapon, nor did he hide his face. It was Julian Vance—the sitting White House Chief of Staff and the ultimate architect of the corporate syndicate.
“Julian Vance,” Judge Harrison murmured, narrowing his eyes as he stood up from the table. “The untouchable man.”
“He knows the game is up,” I said, drawing my Sig Sauer and sliding it securely into my holster. “He didn't come here with an army. He came here to negotiate.”
“Let him in,” my father said quietly, standing up beside Judge Harrison with a look of quiet, unyielding dignity. “It’s time we look him in the eye.”
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I walked over to the heavy wooden front door, turning the deadbolt and pulling it open just as Julian Vance reached the top of the porch steps. He looked tired, the sharp angles of his face etched with the undeniable reality of a man whose empire had just evaporated overnight.
“Captain Avery,” Julian greeted with a thin, bitter smile, stepping past me into the warm entryway without waiting for an invitation. “You really are the thorn that refuses to be pulled.”
