The 33rd Time

Chapter 2 The Silent Severance

The Rolls-Royce passed the penthouse and entered the underground garage beneath Blackrock Tower. The private elevator waited behind the security gates. The building belonged to me.

Julian Thorne waited beside the elevator in a dark suit, carrying a tablet.

He inclined his head. "Ms. Sterling."

For three years, everyone around Adrian had called me Serena Vance. Hearing my own name again made me stop.

"It's good to be back, Julian," I replied.

We entered the elevator, and he handed me the tablet.

"As you instructed, the architecture of Blackwood Group's financing is displayed."

The diagram linked Sterling Sovereign Trust to Blackwood Group through 'Operational Capital,' 'Acquisition Leverage,' and 'Credit Guarantee.' Adrian had never asked who guaranteed them.

I opened the control panel.

I pressed the large, crimson icon at the top labeled: **FREEZE PROTOCOL.**

The three lines turned red. **$30,000,000.00** in liquid assets returned to the trust.

"The transfer is complete, Ms. Sterling," Julian reported. "Blackwood's CFO is panicked. He's calling it a catastrophic systems failure."

"He is correct about the failure."

Adrian would find the divorce agreement when he returned to the penthouse. He would probably tear it up. He had dismissed every earlier warning as another demand for attention.

His portfolio would tell him otherwise.

My satellite phone buzzed. *Phase One Complete. Vance marital contract nullification filed under seal.*

The elevator doors reflected my bare left hand.

"There's more," Julian said, pointing to the tablet.

A new alert was flashing. **PROJECT NIGHTINGALE - ACQUISITION FUNDING: REVOKED.**

Adrian had called Nightingale the deal that would establish his legacy. Its funding now read zero.