Chapter 10 - The Board Dismantled
Twenty minutes later, the clearing was quiet.
Damian had used the excavator’s radio to broadcast an emergency command code on the syndicate’s private tactical frequency. When the rest of the Russo organization realized that Marcus Vance was incapacitated and that Damian was still very much alive, the hired guns abandoned their vehicles and fled into the marshland.
By noon, the private airstrip behind Russo Logistics headquarters in Newark was locked down.
Damian sat behind his massive mahogany desk on the forty-second floor of the corporate tower. He had changed into a clean black shirt and trousers, his arm neatly bandaged by the company physician.
On the couch across from him sat Sadie and Lucy, happily eating double-fudge chocolate ice cream that Damian’s executive assistant had rushed in from Manhattan, their muddy boots resting on a five-thousand-dollar Persian rug.
I sat in an armchair beside them, holding a cup of hot tea with both hands, my body still trembling from the residual adrenaline.
Beside Damian’s desk, two federal marshals and the deputy director of the state attorney general’s corporate crimes division were carefully scanning the documents from Leo’s red safe.
"Every transaction is here," the deputy director said, adjusting his glasses in disbelief. "Marcus Vance wasn't just laundering dock revenue. He was running an off-book human trafficking pipeline through the southern terminals, using your late father’s shell accounts to hide the manifests."
"And the board?" Damian asked, his voice low and steady.
"Six of the seven board members signed the offshore authorization waivers," the agent replied. "Arrest warrants are being processed right now. By nightfall, every single one of them will be in federal custody. The board of trustees is finished."
The agent closed his briefcase, looked at Sadie and Lucy with a softened expression, and offered me a respectful nod. "Ms. Ward, the state will expedite the full, permanent legal status of the trust. Under Delaware corporate law, as their legal guardian, you will serve as the sole trustee of forty percent of Russo Logistics until they reach the age of twenty-five."
I blinked, the reality of the words washing over me like a tidal wave. "I... I don't want the money. I just want them to be safe."
"The money is their birthright, Nora," Damian said softly, after the federal agents had cleared the room.
He stood up, walked around the desk, and knelt beside the couch where the girls were scraping the bottom of their bowls.
"Leo built this company with sweat and blood," Damian continued, looking up at me. "My father corrupted it. Vance turned it into a slaughterhouse. But with Leo’s shares and mine combined, we can purge every dirty contract, shut down every illegal terminal, and build something Sarah Montgomery would have been proud of."
"Uncle Damian?" Sadie asked, holding out a spoonful of ice cream. "Are we going back to the little house?"
Damian’s eyes softened. He gently pushed a stray lock of hair from Sadie’s forehead. "No, sweetheart. The little house has served its purpose. But tomorrow morning, we’re going to pick out any house you and your sister want. A house with a big yard, a swing set, and no secret doors."
Lucy smiled, reaching up to touch the brass key that still hung around her neck. "Can I keep the key?"
"Always," Damian said, kissing her forehead. "That key brought you home."
He looked at me, his dark eyes steady, clear, and filled with a quiet, profound promise. "You kept them alive, Nora. When my own family failed them, you gave them a home. As long as I draw breath, no one will ever threaten you or these girls again."
May you like
For the first time in five terrifying hours, I let out a full breath. The nightmare was over. The corrupt empire had been dismantled, the monsters who had hunted my children were behind bars, and the future was secure.
Or so I thought.
