Chapter 7 - The Call from Zurich
Conrad stood up slowly from the desk, walking over to the tall, arched window that overlooked the quiet, moonlit lawns of the estate. The immediate crisis with Julian and Agatha was resolved, but the massive, unseen shadow looming behind them had just stepped directly into his crosshairs.
His phone buzzed sharply against the polished mahogany wood of the desk.
He didn’t rush to answer it. He let it ring twice, listening to the harsh, sterile tone vibrate through the quiet, empty study. Then he picked it up and pressed the receiver firmly to his ear.
“Vance,” he said, his voice entirely steady.
There was a long, heavy pause on the other end of the line, filled only with the faint sound of digital static. Then a synthesized, heavily distorted voice spoke through the encrypted channel, calm, deliberate, and chillingly precise.
“You’ve caused quite a disruption in our domestic asset chain, Mr. Vance. But a local victory doesn't clear the board. We’re dispatching a representative to settle the ledger permanently.”
The line went dead with a sharp click.
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Conrad stared down at the dark, silent screen of his phone. A faint, cold smile touched the corners of his lips. He turned away from the window, walked back to the heavy desk, and unlocked the bottom drawer. He pulled out a heavy, steel-framed revolver his father had left him decades ago—a relic of an older, harsher era of survival.
He loaded the cylinder, listening to the heavy, satisfying clack of the metal falling into place, completely ready for whoever was coming next.
