Chapter 4 - The Hunt Extends to Europe
The flight across the Atlantic was a blur of cold calculation and tightening traps. In a world where million-dollar transactions moved in milliseconds, men like Marcus Vale believed they could hide behind Swiss banking secrecy laws and high-end security details. They forgot a fundamental rule of the underworld: you can buy immunity from the law, but you cannot buy immunity from a man whose children have been stolen from him.
As the private jet cut through the upper atmosphere, I sat in the leather swivel chair of the cabin, reviewing the updated asset freeze orders my legal team had executed across Zurich, Geneva, and the Cayman Islands. Marcus’s offshore accounts were locked tighter than a vault. Every shell company he used to wash the stolen capital had been flagged by my private financial analysts.
Chloe sat across the aisle, reading a weathered paperback, though I could tell by the tension in her shoulders she wasn't absorbing a single word.
“You didn't have to come, Chloe,” I said, breaking the rhythmic hum of the jet engines. “This isn't a classroom or a family picnic. When we touch down in Zurich, it’s going to get very dark, very fast.”
She lowered the book, looking at me with those steady, unblinking hazel eyes. “I know what you are, Mr. Russo. I knew it the moment you walked into that kitchen and ordered me fired. But you’re wrong if you think you’re fighting this war alone anymore. You’re hunting a monster, but you need someone who can still look at your daughter without seeing a battlefield.”
May you like
I didn't answer. I turned my gaze back to the window, watching the endless sea of clouds rush by beneath our wings.
When we touched down at Zurich-Kloten Airport under a heavy, slate-gray sky, Viktor’s local contacts were waiting on the tarmac with two armored black vans. We didn't waste time going through customs or checking into a hotel. We rolled straight toward the cliffs overlooking Lake Zurich, where Marcus Vale’s modern glass-and-steel fortress loomed over the dark water.
