Chapter 4 - The Midnight Ultimatum
I picked up my personal cell phone, dialed Victor’s number directly, and switched it to speakerphone. The line didn't even ring twice before he picked up.
"You old bitch," Victor roared, his voice rattling the phone's tiny speaker. The smooth, aristocratic veneer he usually wore like a shield was completely gone, replaced by a raw, jagged panic. "Where is my wife? If she isn't back in my penthouse within thirty minutes, I will use every regulatory board in this state to strip your estate, freeze your trusts, and leave you begging for scraps on the street. You think because you have a seat on the harbor board you can cross me? I own the mayor. I own the precinct!"
"You own nothing but the clothes on your back, Victor," I said, my voice dropping to a temperature that froze the air in the room. "I am currently sitting in my living room surrounded by twenty federal agents. The warrants inside my briefcase have officially frozen every domestic asset tied to Hale Logistics. Your bank accounts are locked. Your corporate lines are dead. The local police officers you sent to my home are currently sitting in the back of an FBI transport van in handcuffs."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the line. I could hear the distant, frantic shouting of his security guards in the background, followed by the sound of papers tearing.
"Sophia..." Victor’s voice shifted, dropping into that dangerously soft, manipulative tone he used whenever he wanted to break her spirit. "Sophia, baby, listen to me. Your mother is sick. She’s setting us up because she hates our success. Think about our son, Sophia. Come back to me. We can fix this outside the courts. You know how much I love you."
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Sophia leaned forward toward the phone. The fear that had dictated her life for the last two years evaporated, replaced by the iron she had inherited from her father and grandfather. "I am looking at the blood on my dress, Victor. I am looking at the bruises on my arms. You never loved me. You loved my access. You will never touch me, and you will never see your son. Enjoy the dark."
I pressed the red button, terminating the call before he could utter another syllable. I looked up at Agent Vance. "He’s heading for the docks. Take him down."
