Chapter 39 - The Swiss Phantom
Inside the back of the heated ambulance, Lily was wrapped in warm blankets, an oxygen mask gently resting over her face as the paramedics administered a stabilizing saline IV. She had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep, color finally returning to her cheeks.
Martha sat on the bench beside her, clutching Lily’s small hand tightly against her chest, silent tears running down the deep lines of her face.
Jonathan stood outside the ambulance doors under the shelter of the rear awning, his coat dripping onto the asphalt. Detective Cole handed him an evidence bag containing Arthur Vance’s high-encryption smartphone.
On the screen was an open message thread, time-stamped just three minutes ago.
The sender was simply marked: *V.*
The message contained a live video feed from an interior cabin of a private aircraft. The camera panned across a sleek leather interior, showing an open bottle of vintage champagne, two glasses, and a folder marked *Vance Estate: Asset Reallocation.*
Then, the camera turned around.
It showed Victoria, looking radiant, untouched by the storm, her hair immaculately styled. She smiled directly into the lens, raising her champagne glass toward the camera.
"Did you really think Arthur was running this show, Jonathan?" her voice murmured through the phone’s tiny speaker. "Arthur was greedy. He wanted his company back. But I... I wanted you to know what it feels like to lose everything while watching through a glass screen, entirely powerless."
Her smile faded into something terrifyingly vacant and cold.
"Look at the flight log, Jonathan. Arthur thought this plane was taking us to Zurich. But the flight coordinates were changed forty-eight hours ago."
Cole tapped the screen, bringing up the aircraft’s transponder data.
The plane wasn't heading to Switzerland.
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It was descending toward a private airstrip nestled deep within the Catskill Mountains—less than forty miles from Jonathan’s family sanctuary.
***
