Chapter 106 - The Blackwood Cipher
The standoff in the lobby was only the opening bell. While Alexander’s lawyers occupied the 80th-floor executive suite, Ethan, Marcus, and I retreated to our secondary command center on the 42nd floor—a floor Alexander’s team didn't realize was completely isolated from the building's main network.
"We have two hours before the formal board ratification," Marcus said, plugging a hard drive into the terminal. "I dug up the sealed military intelligence files from the 2016 Atlantic crash where Alexander supposedly died."
The monitor illuminated with old radar tracks and black-and-white autopsy photographs.
"Look at the dental records from the crash recovery," Ethan pointed his finger at a magnified X-ray on the screen. "The body recovered from the cockpit had a silver crown on the lower left molar. Alexander doesn't have a silver crown."
"The investigator who filed the official death certificate was Dr. Harrison Vance—no relation to us, but a known associate of the old European syndicates," I noted, analyzing the digital signature. "Where is Dr. Vance now?"
"He's living under a fake identity in a private estate in Greenwich, Connecticut," Marcus replied. "And he's the only living witness who can prove Alexander forged the death report to execute his corporate fraud."
Ethan grabbed his coat from the leather chair, pulling a concealed firearm from his desk drawer and sliding it into his shoulder holster. "Marcus and I are flying to Connecticut. We bring Dr. Vance back to Chicago before the board votes at noon."
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I walked up to Ethan, grabbing his lapels and pulling him down so his eyes met mine. "He knows you're coming for the doctor, Ethan. It's a trap."
"Then he better set a bigger trap," Ethan murmured, leaning down to press a fierce, possessive kiss against my lips. "Hold the line here, Chairwoman. I'll bring you the knife to end this ghost."
