Chapter 6 - THE TETHER
Elara couldn't breathe. The walls of the concrete vault seemed to close in on her, crushing the oxygen from her lungs. "Leo," she choked out, dropping the photographs. "He has my baby. He has Leo."
Dominic grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip firm, grounding her. His own eyes were wild with panic for Maya, but he forced his voice to remain steady. "Elara, look at me. Breathe. Jax wants my company. He won't hurt them as long as he has leverage. We are going to get them back."
Her phone rang. It was an unknown number. Elara answered, putting it on speaker.
"Did you enjoy your little trip to the archives, Elara?" Jax’s voice purred through the speaker, dripping with condescension. "I must admit, you are much more resourceful than your late husband."
"If you touch a single hair on their heads..." Dominic snarled, stepping closer to the phone.
"Relax, Dominic," Jax laughed. "Maya and the boy are currently enjoying some ice cream in the back of my jet. But we have a tight schedule. I have a new contract drawn up. It transfers one hundred percent of Vale Corporation to Apex Holdings. No contingencies. No Cayman clauses. Just a total surrender."
"Done," Dominic said instantly without a second thought. "Where do we meet?"
"Oh, you don't get off that easily," Jax said, his tone turning venomous. "I don't just want your company, Dominic. I want you destroyed. You will sign the contract, and then you will sign a prepared confession stating that you ordered your father's murder, and that Kenji Sato was your accomplice."
Elara stared at Dominic in horror. If he signed that confession, he would spend the rest of his life in federal prison. Jax would take his empire and his daughter.
"I'll be at the private airfield in Teterboro," Jax continued. "You have exactly one hour. Come alone. If I see police, the plane takes off, and you will never see your children again."
The line went dead.
Dominic stood frozen, staring at the phone. He was a billionaire, a man who commanded global industries, but in that moment, he looked utterly broken. He looked at Elara, tears shining in his eyes. "I have to do it," he whispered. "I'll sign the confession. You take Maya and Leo and disappear."
"No," Elara said fiercely, her sorrow instantly burning into rage. She bent down and scooped up the manila folder that had held the photographs. Something else was tucked in the bottom of the lockbox. A heavy, black leather-bound book.
"What is that?" Dominic asked.
Elara opened it. The pages were filled with thick, handwritten notes. "It’s Jax's original audit notebook from ten years ago. The one my husband was looking for." She flipped to the back, her eyes scanning the final pages. She stopped, her breath catching.
She turned the book around to face Dominic. Tucked inside the back cover was a heavily redacted forensic report. It was the report that had ruined Elara’s career, the one framing her for the five-million-dollar theft.
But at the bottom, beneath the fake signatures, was a handwritten note in Arthur Vale’s distinct cursive.
I'm sorry, Elara. I had to sacrifice you to save him. The offshore lock requires two keys.
Dominic frowned. "To save who? Jax?"
May you like
"No," Elara said, her eyes widening as the final piece of the puzzle snapped into place. She looked at Dominic, a wild, desperate hope flaring in her chest. "He wasn't protecting Jax. He was protecting you. And Jax just handed us the gun to shoot him with."
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