Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Calling in the Crown
"We were ambushed twice" said Alexander, wiping a smudge of blood from his jaw as he looked at Joseph. "First by a couple of sloppy shooters right in the driveway, and then by a five-man tactical squad clad in sterile black gear waiting for me in the blind spot of the restroom hallway. They knew my TMC agent designation. They said they had orders to bring me in or terminate me. By the time I neutralized them and got back to the lobby, Victoria and Aria were gone."
"Sinclair..." muttered Joseph, his fingers tapping against his gold-headed cane as his brow furrowed into a deep, dangerous scowl.
He went quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning the marble floor before he shook his head, a realization hitting his face.
"No... something feels entirely wrong about that" said Joseph, his voice dropping into a low, venomous growl. "Arthur Sinclair is an arrogant bastard, but he isn’t a idiot. He knows exactly what kind of hellfire I would rain down on his entire bloodline if he dared to touch a single hair on my daughter’s head. He wouldn’t dare. Something is deeply wrong here."
Joseph turned on his heel, his sharp gaze locking onto the second-in-command officer who was currently supervising the medical team wrapping the security chief’s shattered arm.
"Brenan!" shouted Joseph. "Do you have the intelligence brief I tasked you with?"
"Yes, sir" said Brenan, stepping forward instantly and saluting with a perfectly rigid posture. "The current chief of security has been active within our ranks for over twenty years, and he has been personally entrusted with Miss Victoria’s protection details for more than a decade. My deep-dive audit has yielded zero anomalies, hidden accounts, or indicators that he could be acting as a traitor from within."
Joseph eyes grew entirely cold, a terrifying authority radiating from his posture as he gripped his cane tightly.
"It appears it’s finally time to collect on some overdue favors" said Joseph, looking up at the high-tech tactical monitors lining the upper mezzanine. "Establish an encrypted link with the Commander of the Army, the Chief of Police, and the Governor himself. Tell them I want traffic camera, facial recognition matrix, and satellite grid in this entire territory activated right now. I want my daughter brought back to this tower in less than ten minutes."
Instantly, the entire lobby exploded into chaos. Operators moved frantically, screaming into their radios, phones ringing off the hooks, and data streams flashing wildly across the tactical screens.
Joseph’s face twisted into an expression of raw, unadulterated malice as he stared out at the bustling room. "I don’t care who the incompetent bastard is that dared to touch my blood... but there will not be a single corner left in this goddamn world for him to hide from my wrath."
Meanwhile, far away from the chaotic high-rise, the scene shifted to a damp, dimly lit underground warehouse.
Bound tightly to heavy metal chairs and unconscious, Aria and Victoria sat side by side, their heads lolling forward from the heavy sedatives running through their systems. Standing directly in front of them was Senator Ryan Gobbels, Aria’s bitter political rival. He looked profoundly stressed, sweat beading on his forehead as he stared at two separate burner phones on the table. He had just received two back-to-back updates.
The first call had informed him that the primary target, Alexander, was still very much alive. His elite tactical team had been wiped out in a staggering one-versus-five corridor shootout, and the agent was currently en route to Kingsley Tower.
The Senator had exploded in pure, unbridled rage, slamming his fist against the concrete pillar. "Damn it... that bastard again...!!!"
He had originally wanted nothing more than to humiliate Aria publicly at Ms. Gable’s daughter’s party, and that annoying brat had ruined his plans. Then, he had orchestrated everything to finally terminate her tonight, and once again, that same kid had derailed the operation. Now, to make matters infinitely more critical, Victoria was caught in the crossfire. He knew very well that Victoria was incredibly close friends with Aria, but the situation had turned entirely desperate; he needed to make Aria disappear today by any means necessary, but he had failed to silence the final, most dangerous witness.
To cover his tracks and ensure plausible deniability, Ryan had meticulously organized the entire operation to point squarely at the Sinclair family, who had been constantly harassing anyone close to Aria anyway. In fact, just hours ago, he had paid an fortune to Big Black’s right-hand woman, Vanessa, to ensure that the entire underworld believed a bloody war had broken out between Aria and the Sinclairs—perfectly framing Alexander, who was openly known as Aria’s personal escort.
However, Alexander had managed to escape the hallway ambush by the skin of his teeth. The Senator was already aware of that failure and was seething with rage, but it was the second, final phone call that was now leaving him utterly terrified.
It was his inside informant, delivering the worst possible news: the Kingsley family had just mobilized their entire, staggering network of power to track Victoria down. The contact promised he would try to delay the tracking grid for exactly ten minutes, but there was no more time to spare after that window closed. The moment those ten minutes were up, the entire city’s surveillance apparatus would inevitably trace the breadcrumbs straight back to this very warehouse.
Ryan’s hands shook as he stared down at the two unconscious women. He had to execute them and erase his tracks immediately, or there would truly be no place left in this world for him to hide from Joseph Kingsley’s wrath.
"Alex... Alex... ALEX...!!!" Ryan screamed, veins bulging in his neck as his voice cracked with pure, unbridled malice. "Damn you to hell! I don’t care how much it costs me, I will personally strip the skin from your goddamn bones...!!!"
He whipped around, glaring at his heavily armed henchmen who were standing completely frozen in fear.
"What the fuck are you idiots staring at me for?!" Ryan roared, saliva flying from his lips. "Load them up, strip this place bare, and wipe every track! We need to flee from this goddamn country immediately! Move your fucking asses, now...!!!"
