Chapter 34 - Infiltrating the Vault
Dawn broke over the Swiss Alps, painting the snowy peaks in brilliant shades of pink and amber.
In the financial district of downtown Zurich, the imposing glass-and-steel headquarters of Helvetia Holdings stood like an impenetrable fortress. Inside the subterranean security control room, Natalie Vance—who had flown in overnight on a private charter—sat before a bank of high-resolution monitors, her fingers flying across her decryption console.
"I’m inside their firewall," Natalie announced over the encrypted comms link to Claire and Arthur, who were stationed in a surveillance van parked across the street. "Viktor Sterling isn't just trying to acquire our real estate parcels. He’s routing billions of dollars through offshore accounts to fund an international smear campaign designed to collapse Whitmore stock before the market opens."
"Not on my watch," Claire’s voice came back cool and resolute over the comms. "Bypass their biometric locks on the executive server floor. Arthur and I are heading up."
Within minutes, Claire and Arthur breached the executive elevator shaft, rappelling down onto the fiftieth-floor balcony of Viktor Sterling’s private penthouse office.
The sliding glass doors yielded instantly to Arthur’s digital bypass decoder. They stepped into the opulent office just as Viktor Sterling turned around from his mahogany wet bar, a glass of scotch frozen halfway to his mouth.
Viktor’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "How the hell did you—"
Before he could finish, Arthur closed the distance with terrifying speed, slamming the flat of his hand against Viktor’s desk and trapping him behind it with the steel tip of his titanium cane pressed firmly against his chest.
"Game over, Viktor," Arthur said, his voice like grinding stone.
Claire walked forward slowly, placing a leather portfolio squarely on the desk in front of him. "Every shell company, every illicit wire transfer, and every mercenary contract you drafted is currently being transmitted to the Swiss Federal Police and the Interpol cybercrime division."
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Viktor let out a breathless, panicked laugh, shaking his head. "You think arresting me stops the board? The European branch will vote you out by noon!"
"Let them try," Claire replied, her voice ringing with absolute, unbridled power. "I didn't fly halfway across the world to play defense. I'm here to rewrite European corporate law."
