Adrian’s grip on the mercenary tightened until the man gasped for air. "Who gave them the administrative passkey? Speak!"
"Someone... someone on your own board of directors..." the man choked out. "Vance always keeps his snakes close to you..."
Adrian threw the man aside, his eyes blazing with fury. "Emma, isolate the board member credentials! Who opened that gateway?"
There was a brief pause on the line, followed by Emma’s sharp intake of breath. "It was Julian Vance... Marcus Vance’s cousin, who took over the European investment seat on our board three years ago under a fake identity."
Nora felt a surge of cold fury wash over her. Julian Vance had sat at her father's memorial. He had eaten at their family table. He had feigned loyalty while secretly feeding intelligence to the monster who wanted her family dead.
"Ethan, secure the docks," Nora ordered, her voice dropping to an icy tone that terrified even the surrounding guards. "Uncle Adrian, get the helicopter ready. We are paying a visit to the executive penthouse in Manhattan."
The glass penthouse office of Julian Vance atop the Manhattan financial tower overlooked the twinkling skyline of the city. Julian sat behind his mahogany desk, frantically packing encrypted hard drives and stacks of bearer bonds into a leather briefcase. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he monitored the file transfer progress bar on his terminal: 98% Complete.
"Just a few more seconds..." he muttered to himself, checking his gold wristwatch.
The heavy double mahogany doors of his office exploded inward with a deafening crash.
Julian gasped, dropping his briefcase as Adrian Cole strode into the room, flanked by Nora. The room felt instantly suffocating, charged with the murderous aura of a patriarch whose family had been betrayed.
"Going somewhere, Julian?" Nora asked, her voice dangerously calm as she walked toward his desk.
Julian backed away toward the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, holding his hands up in fake innocence. "Nora! Adrian! Thank God you're safe! I heard about the breach at the harbor—I was just packing up sensitive files to secure them in a safehouse—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nora closed the distance and delivered a stinging, vicious slap across his face. The crack echoed through the wide room. The force of the strike knocked Julian sideways against his desk, blood trickling from his split lip.
"Don't you dare speak my name with that filthy mouth," Nora hissed, her eyes locking onto his with terrifying intensity. "We know who you are. We know who you work for."
Julian wiped the blood from his mouth, his desperate facade crumbling into a bitter, spiteful sneer. He straightened his coat, laughing darkly. "You think you're so smart, little girl? You think you're James Cole's brilliant heir? You're nothing! Marcus Vance is going to tear your empire down stone by stone, just like he should have done fifteen years ago!"
Adrian stepped forward, his massive frame looming over Julian like a shadow of death. He grabbed Julian by the tie, yanking him forward until their noses were inches apart. "Where is Marcus?"
"Go to hell, Adrian!" Julian snarled.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He slammed Julian’s head down onto the solid oak desk, breaking his nose with a sickening crunch, then dragged him over to the broken edge of the glass terrace, holding him over the three-hundred-foot drop above Manhattan.
Julian shrieked in terror, his legs dangling uselessly in the cold night air. "Stop! Stop! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"
"Speak," Adrian growled, his grip on Julian's collar cold and unyielding.
"He's... he's aboard the Elysium, a private mega-yacht anchored off the coast of Monaco!" Julian sobbed out, tears mixing with the blood on his face. "The entire Eclipse Coalition leadership is meeting there tomorrow night to auction off the decryption keys from Vault 9! Please, don't drop me!"
Nora stepped up to the edge of the balcony, looking down at the groveling traitor with absolute contempt. "You sold out my father. You sold out our family."
She nodded once to Adrian. Adrian dragged Julian back over the railing and threw him onto the marble floor, where Ethan was waiting with heavy zip-ties.
"Hand him to the federal authorities with a full confession ledger," Nora commanded cold-bloodedly. "As for Marcus Vance... we are going to Monaco."
The private Cole jet cut through the clouds high above the Atlantic Ocean, winging its way toward the French Riviera. Inside the luxury cabin, the atmosphere was quiet, tense, and focused. Maps of the Mediterranean, schematics of the Elysium mega-yacht, and dossier photos of Marcus Vance covered the central table.
Adrian sat across from Nora, cleaning and inspecting his tactical gear. "Infiltrating the Elysium will not be like our previous operations, Nora. The vessel is essentially a floating fortress. It carries thirty heavily armed private contractors, automated defense turrets, and radar counter-measures. Vance knows we will come for him."
"Good," Nora replied, snapping a fresh magazine into her custom handgun. "I want him to know. I want him to spend his final hours waiting for the blow to land."
Ethan leaned over the digital schematic. "The auction is masquerade-themed—a high-stakes gathering for elite black-market brokers, corrupt diplomats, and cartel leaders. Nora can enter through the main guest portal using the stolen VIP credentials we extracted from Julian’s server. I will stay on the water with a high-speed interceptor boat, and Uncle Adrian will insert via halo-jump onto the upper helipad."
"It's risky," Adrian noted, looking at Nora with deep concern. "If your cover is blown inside that ballroom, you will be surrounded by dozens of armed hostiles before we can reach you."
Nora reached across the table and placed her hand over Adrian's rough, scarred knuckles. "Uncle Adrian, you taught me how to fight, how to read a room, and how to survive. My father gave me his name, but you gave me the strength to bear it. I am not going to hide in the shadow of this family any longer. Together, we finish this."
Adrian looked into her eyes and saw no hesitation, no fear—only the cold, magnificent steel of a true Cole leader. A dark, resolute smile crossed his face. "Then we give them a night they will never forget."