Chapter 5 - THE NEGOTIATION OF WOLVES
The atmosphere in Elliot’s penthouse shifted from a sanctuary to a war room. Computers were wheeled in. Marcus’s elite security team, dressed in tactical gear beneath their suits, established a perimeter.
Elliot plugged the drive into an isolated, secure terminal. The screen flooded with data. It was worse than Marcus had described. Victor Silas had his hands in everything—human trafficking, political bribery, hostile takeovers funded by blood money.
“This is a nuclear bomb,” Marcus said, staring at the screen. “If we hand this to the Feds, Silas will know. He’ll execute Sarah Carr before the ink on the warrant is dry.”
“We’re not giving it to the Feds,” Elliot said, his eyes reflecting the cold blue light of the monitor. “We are going to do what Whitaker Financial does best. A hostile takeover.”
Elliot picked up the phone and dialed a number Marcus had pulled from the ledger. It rang twice before a gravelly voice answered.
“Who is this?”
“Victor Silas,” Elliot said smoothly. “This is Elliot Whitaker.”
A dark chuckle echoed over the line. “The billionaire. To what do I owe the pleasure? You want a loan, Whitaker? I heard your stock dipped today.”
“I have something that belongs to you,” Elliot said, ignoring the taunt. “A silver flash drive. And two very tired children.”
Silence hung heavily on the line. The humor instantly evaporated from Silas’s voice, replaced by a venomous hiss. “If you touch that drive, I will burn your glass tower to the ground with you inside it.”
“I’ve already decrypted it, Victor. I have copies on secure servers in Zurich, London, and Tokyo. If anything happens to me, or if anything happens to Sarah Carr, the data gets blasted to every major news outlet and federal agency in the country.”
“What do you want?” Silas growled.
“An exchange,” Elliot stated, his voice like absolute zero. “Tonight. Midnight. The private airstrip at the county airport. Bring the mother. Unharmed. You get the drive, and you get to walk away with your freedom.”
“You think you can play in my world, suit?” Silas mocked. “You push papers. I break bones.”
“Midnight, Victor. Don’t be late.” Elliot hung up.
He turned around to find Maddie standing in the doorway of the study. She looked terrified.
“Are you going to give him back the shiny thing?” she asked.
May you like
“I’m going to trade it for your mother,” Elliot promised, kneeling down to her level. “I swear to you, Maddie. I never break a contract.”
Maddie looked into his eyes, searching for a lie, but found none. Suddenly, she lunged forward, wrapping her small arms tightly around Elliot’s neck. Elliot froze, his breath catching in his throat. Slowly, he raised his hands and hugged the child back, feeling a fierce, blinding instinct to protect her at all costs.
