Chapter 64 - The Glass Citadel
The betrayal cut deeper than any blade. Marcus—the brother who had stood by us through the corporate wars—had handed the master key of our family's survival back to Lord James.
By noon the next day, Lord James Vance issued a formal ultimatum from his stronghold—The Glass Citadel, a cliffside fortress in Zurich, Switzerland.
He scheduled a live, private global broadcast for the members of The Vanguard Council. On the agenda: the immediate strip-down of Sterling-Vance assets and the formal transfer of Noah’s guardianship.
Sitting in our private war room in Chicago, I looked at the satellite images of the Swiss fortress.
"Marcus thought he was saving his daughter," I said, my eyes narrowed as I analyzed the Citadel's blueprints. "But he left us a trail."
Ethan looked up, bewildered. "What do you mean?"
I brought up a line of hidden code embedded within the flash drive Marcus had taken. "Marcus didn't betray us, Ethan. Look at the data stream. He planted a localized GPS beacon inside the drive before he took it. He knew James would force him to bring it to Zurich. He walked into the lion's den alone to save his daughter and pull James into the open!"
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Ethan’s eyes widened with realization and sudden hope. "He played the traitor to give us the exact coordinates of The Shadow Council!"
"Exactly," I said, standing up and buttoning my dark blazer. "Lord James thinks he's hosting a victory summit in Zurich tonight. Let's make sure he never forgets the Chairwoman."
