Chapter 14 - The Freight Forwarder’s Shadow
I walked out of the prison gates into the cold drizzle of Snohomish County.
My driver had the town car idling near the visitors' security gate.
As I pulled the door open, Arthur was already sitting inside, an array of legal documents spread across the leather bench seat between us.
"What did Miller say?" Arthur asked before the door had even fully latched.
"The divorce was an asset transfer, Arthur," I said, pulling off my leather gloves.
"Michael didn't fight me for the port because he knew the debt was attached to the physical slipway, not to his personal estate."
"He passed forty million dollars of toxic debt to me wrapped up in a bow of apparent surrender."
Arthur closed his leather folder with a soft slap.
"David just sent over the complete Geneva filing," Arthur said, rubbing his temple.
"It’s worse than that, Claire."
"Helvetia Maritime isn't just seeking repayment."
"They have filed for immediate maritime arrest of all vessels docking at Pier 44 starting at midnight tomorrow."
"They’ve retained Robert Sterling."
I turned my head sharply toward Arthur.
"Robert Sterling? Thomas Vance-Sterling’s brother?"
"Julianna’s uncle," Arthur confirmed. "He’s the senior maritime attorney who drafted the Port of Tacoma consolidation back in the nineties."
"He knows our operations better than the Coast Guard does."
My phone chimed in my purse.
I pulled it out, expecting a message from Lucas or Emma.
Instead, an unknown number from an encrypted messaging app appeared on the screen.
*Claire. I am not your enemy. We need to meet without the lawyers. Tonight at the maritime chapel on 1st Avenue. If you bring Arthur, I won't show. — J.*
I stared at the single letter at the bottom of the screen.
*J.*
Julianna Keller.
"What is it, Claire?" Arthur asked, noting the sudden stillness in my posture.
"Julianna wants to talk," I said, showing him the glowing screen.
Arthur’s face darkened with instant fury.
"Absolutely not," he said, waving his hand in dismissal. "It’s an ambush, Claire."
"They’re trying to bait you into an admission of liability before the district judge holds the preliminary injunction hearing on Thursday."
"Look at where she wants to meet, Arthur," I said quietly.
"The Mariner’s Rest Chapel on 1st Avenue."
"That chapel was founded by my great-grandfather for injured dockworkers."
"It has three different exits onto Western Avenue and no private security cameras."
"Why would she go there if she held all the cards?"
"Because she doesn't hold all the cards," a soft voice chimed from Arthur’s speakerphone.
It was Lucas.
He had been patched into our vehicle's audio system the entire time from our home office.
"Mom," Lucas said through the speakers, his keyboard clattering in the background.
"I just cracked the manifest sub-directory for Julianna’s import account."
"She didn't initiate the federal foreclosure notice in Geneva."
"Who did, Lucas?" I asked, leaning toward the microphone in the car ceiling.
"Marcus Sterling," Lucas said. "Her cousin."
"The corporate filing shows Julianna was removed as Managing Director of Apex Meridian Holdings seventy-two hours ago."
"They froze her accounts, Mom."
"The family pushed her out the moment the lien papers were submitted to the clerk in Seattle."
I looked out the tinted window as the Seattle skyline loomed through the gray coastal fog.
Julianna Keller wasn't the hunter anymore.
She was the bait that had outlived its usefulness.
"Tell the driver to change course, Arthur," I said, putting my phone back in my pocket.
May you like
"Where are we going?" Arthur asked, his hand hovering over the intercom button.
"First Avenue," I said. "It’s time to see what my husband’s shadow looks like when the lights are turned on."
