Chapter 15 - THE LAST STAND
At 11:15 PM, the private terminal at Gary International Airport was quiet and dark.
Harrison Vance hurried across the tarmac toward a Gulfstream jet, carrying two heavy leather duffel bags loaded with bearer bonds and offshore transaction keys. His coat collar was turned up against the freezing rain, his eyes darting frantically toward the dark runway.
"Hurry up with the luggage!" Harrison yelled at his pilot.
"Mr. Vance," a calm, deep voice echoed from the shadows of the hanger bay.
Harrison spun around, freezing in his tracks.
Stepping out from behind the fuel truck was Daniel. Behind him stood six federal marshals, their sidearms raised and tactical flashlights blinding Harrison in a harsh white glare.
"Daniel..." Harrison stammered, backing toward the jet airstairs, his duffel bag slipping from his numb fingers. "How... how did you find me?"
"You left your bloody thumbprint on my family, Harrison," Daniel said, walking slowly across the wet tarmac until he stood five feet from his uncle. "You tried to kill Julian in Zurich. You sent Margaret to throw a baby down a staircase. And you sent mercenaries to my home."
"It was business!" Harrison shrieked, his voice cracking with pathetic desperation. "The company belonged to me! Your father built it with my labor! Julian was going to give it all away!"
"The company belonged to the Vance family," Daniel said flatly. "And you are no longer a part of it."
The lead federal marshal stepped forward, forcing Harrison onto his knees and snapping steel handcuffs around his wrists.
"Harrison Vance," the marshal announced, "you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted kidnapping, and high-level corporate treason."
As they dragged Harrison away kicking and screaming into the rainy night, Daniel pulled his phone from his pocket. He tapped the screen to open the live nursery camera stream from his phone.
On the screen, Noah was sleeping peacefully in a fresh crib at a secured federal safehouse, clutching his wooden toy train in his small fist.
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Daniel looked up at the dark sky, taking a deep, clean breath of the cold night air.
"It's over, Julian," Daniel whispered into the rain. "He's safe now."
