Chapter 10 - The London Intercept
The persistent drizzle of London autumn coated the cobblestone streets of Mayfair in a slick, reflective sheen. High above the street, inside a private penthouse overlooking Hyde Park, Arthur Vance stood by a floor-to-ceiling glass window.
His red hair was cropped shorter now, the gray at his temples more pronounced. He held a glass of neat Scotch, his eyes watching the red double-decker buses crawl through the fog below.
After the trial in Chicago, Arthur had liquidated his remaining non-liquid assets, stepped down from the remnants of Vance Enterprises, and relocated across the Atlantic with seven-year-old Lily. To the world, he was a surviving victim who had escaped his treacherous family to raise his daughter in peace.
A soft chiming sound echoed from his desk. His encrypted satellite phone was ringing.
Arthur walked over, picking up the device, bringing it to his ear without pressing speaker. "Speak."
"She accepted the contract twenty minutes ago in Toronto," a smooth, cultured voice spoke through the receiver.
Arthur took a slow sip of his Scotch, a cold, calculated smile slowly spreading across his face—the same smile he had hidden behind his grief for eighteen months.
"Excellent," Arthur said smoothly. "Has she boarded the flight to Heathrow?"
"She's on Flight AC868. Landing at 07:00 tomorrow morning."
"Good," Arthur replied, walking back to the window, looking out over the foggy cityscape. "Ensure her arrival is unhindered by local customs. She thinks she is hunting me."
"And isn't she?" the voice asked.
"Victoria is an exceptional asset," Arthur murmured, his thumb tracing the rim of his crystal glass. "She was the only person in that house smart enough to figure out Julian's trap. She saved my daughter's life... and in doing so, she cleared my path to total control of the family trusts without me having to lift a finger against my mother or brother."
Arthur placed the glass on the desk beside a small plastic toy—the orange fox that young Lily had dropped in the West Wing closet two weeks ago.
"She built her entire reputation on finding secrets," Arthur continued softly, his voice dropping into a dark, hypnotic register. "Now, I'm going to give her the ultimate secret to keep."
May you like
He ended the call, set the phone down, and turned toward the hallway where young Lily was laughing softly while playing with her nanny in the adjacent sitting room.
The game hadn't ended at the Vance Estate in Chicago. It had merely changed boardrooms. And as the night fell over London, the hunter and the prey prepared for their final, deadly reunion.
