Chapter 59 - Emergence at the River Sluice
I answered the satellite phone.
"Did you take the books, Clara?" Arthur Vance’s voice was right there, clear as glass, undisturbed by the burning house on the cliffs above.
"I have the books," I said. "And I know Hannah forged the receipts. I know she stole the accounts."
"Your sister is an amateur," the old man spat with venomous disgust. "She hired street thugs to do an accountant's job. She thinks debt can be paid with gasoline and gunfire. But you, Clara... you understand what power actually is. Power isn't a gun. Power is the title deed."
"Where are you?" I demanded.
"Look out toward the shoals, Clara. Past the lightship."
I turned my head toward the dark mouth of the sea cave. Through the mist and the driving rain, three miles out in the black water of the Sound, a cluster of lights was visible. Not a fishing vessel. Not a coast guard cutter.
A mega-yacht, completely blacked out except for its radar mast and navigation lights, swinging silently at anchor in international waters.
"The board of directors is waiting for you, Clara," Arthur said. "Bring the books. Sign the transfer. And we will leave your mother, your sister, and this rotting town to the ashes they built for themselves."
"And if I refuse?"
May you like
A pause stretched over the satellite link, heavy and cold.
"Then Julian dies first. Followed by every soul who helped you leave Oakton."
