Chapter 15 - The Ledger of Souls and the Final Crossing
The boat was a sleek,
black interceptor,
cutting through the dark waters of the Mediterranean like a predator.
I was bound to a chair in the galley,
the metallic taste of the chip still in my mouth,
my shoulder throbbing with every beat of my heart.
Marco stood at the window,
watching the lights of the Italian coast fade away.
Dr. Pierce was there too,
preparing a medical kit.
"We’re going to have to perform a small procedure,
Claire,"
Pierce said,
testing the edge of a scalpel.
"The chip won't do the Syndicate any good if it’s sitting in your stomach."
"Where is Emily?"
I demanded,
my voice raspy.
"She’s in the cabin below,"
Marco said,
not looking at me.
"She’s fine."
"She thinks we’re going on another 'vacation.'"
"You’re a monster,
Marco,"
I said.
"Victor loved you."
"Victor used me as a blunt instrument for twenty years,"
Marco snapped,
turning around.
"He was the brains,
the 'legitimate' face."
"I was the one who got blood on my hands so he could keep his suits clean."
"The Syndicate promised me a partnership."
"A seat at the table."
"You’re just a seat in a waiting room,"
I spat.
"Once they have the code,
you’re as dead as I am."
Suddenly,
the boat rocked violently.
An explosion echoed from the stern,
followed by the frantic sound of sirens.
"What was that?"
Pierce shouted.
A voice came over the intercom,
booming and distorted.
"This is the Italian Coast Guard and the Russo Private Security."
"Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded."
Marco cursed,
grabbing his rifle.
"How did they find us?"
"The necklace,"
I whispered,
a smile breaking through the pain.
"The black diamonds."
"I didn't just throw them."
"I planted the secondary transmitter on your belt when I hugged you on the balcony,
Marco."
"The 'audit' wasn't just digital."
"It was physical."
The door to the galley burst open.
But it wasn't the Coast Guard.
It was Victor.
He had come via helicopter,
rappelling down onto the moving deck.
He was a man possessed,
a father who had finally found his purpose.
He didn't say a word.
He fired.
The bullet took Pierce in the chest,
sending the doctor reeling back into the server rack.
Marco raised his rifle,
but he was too slow.
Victor was on him,
the two brothers crashing into the wall in a blur of violence.
I struggled against my bonds,
the chair tipping over.
"Emily!"
I screamed.
"EMILY!"
The door to the lower cabin opened,
and my daughter ran out,
her eyes wide with terror.
"Mommy!"
She saw the blood,
the fighting,
the chaos.
"Run to the deck,
Emily!"
I shouted.
"Run to the man in the black suit!"
Victor threw Marco overboard,
the splash swallowed by the roar of the engines.
He turned to me,
his face covered in sweat and grime,
and sliced through my ropes.
"Is she okay?"
he gasped,
pulling me up.
"She’s fine,"
I said,
clutching him.
"We’re both fine."
"The chip,"
he said,
looking at my throat.
"Did you really swallow it?"
"No,"
I said,
pulling the small silver drive from the hidden pocket in my dress sleeve.
"I’m a forensic auditor,
Victor."
"I know how to hide the evidence."
He laughed,
a ragged,
joyful sound,
and pulled us both into an embrace.
The boat was slowing down,
surrounded by the lights of the rescue team.
The Syndicate was broken,
the traitor was gone,
and the 'crooked label' had finally been straightened.
But as we looked out at the horizon,
I knew the drama wasn't over.
The Russo name was still heavy.
And the maid...
the maid was now the queen of a broken empire.
"What happens now?"
I asked.
Victor looked at the girl who was his daughter and the woman who was his equal.
"Now,"
he said.
May you like
"We go home."
"And we start the real work."
