They told a broke waitress she was being paid $4,000 to serve dinner, but when the deaf Mafia boss asked who sent her, she realized the man beside him had been lying. / Chapter 34 / 70

Chapter 34 - Dismantling the Proxy

The bodyguards stiffened, their hands twitching instinctively toward their hidden shoulder holsters, but Marcus’s weapon was already locked dead on the lead guard's chest.

"I wouldn't," Marcus advised casually, his finger resting lightly on the trigger. "Unless you want your next corporate review to take place at the coroner's office."

Julian Vance’s expensive smirk shattered instantly, replaced by a pale, trembling panic. He scrambled halfway out of his chair, looking wildly around the room as the illusion of his absolute safety dissolved into the reality of Adrian’s domain.

"This is an outrage!" Julian stammered, his voice cracking slightly. "You cannot touch me! I am a diplomatic-tier envoy protected by international corporate immunity! Mr. Sterling will—"

Adrian raised a single hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. The movement was quiet, authoritative, and terrifyingly final.

Adrian picked up his legal pad once more, his handwriting sharp and deliberate as he wrote his reply.

Mr. Sterling is three thousand miles away across an ocean, Adrian wrote, sliding the pad so it bumped against Julian’s chest. You are sitting in my dining room. International immunity does not apply to trespassers who attempt extortion on private property.

Emma stood up slowly, walking around the table until she stood directly behind Julian’s chair. She reached down, picked up the thick sheaf of acquisition documents, and tapped them rhythmically against Julian’s shoulder.

"You came here thinking you were buying an empire, Julian," Emma said, her voice eerily calm. "Instead, you just handed us the exact corporate routing numbers, Swiss bank accounts, and cryptographic keys we needed to trace Viktor Sterling's entire offshore holding network."

Julian froze, the color draining entirely from his face. "You... you recorded the transmission handshake."

"Of course we did," Emma replied smoothly. "Marcus, take Mr. Vance down to the lower holding facility. Make sure he's comfortable while our forensic team downloads every encrypted file from his personal briefcase and his satellite terminal."

"Right away, boss," Marcus said, stepping forward and yipping a heavy set of tactical zip-ties around Julian’s wrists before hauling him roughly to his feet.

As Julian was dragged screaming and protesting out of the grand dining room, the heavy oak doors closed behind him with a dull, echoing thud.

Adrian remained seated at the head of the table. He picked up his coffee cup, taking a calm sip as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. He looked up at Emma, who stood beside his chair with the briefcase and the encrypted drive in her hands.

Adrian picked up his legal pad, writing a brief, warm note that captured the essence of their partnership.