Chapter 12 - Erasing the Viper
While Clara rested safely in the heavily guarded estate, Julian Romano went to work. He was a man who tied up loose ends, and Vanessa Sterling was a loose end that had just tried to orchestrate a murder.
Vanessa was sitting in a first-class lounge in Paris, sipping champagne, completely unaware that her world was about to permanently end. She believed she had won. She believed Marcus had taken care of her problem.
Suddenly, the lounge doors opened, and two men in immaculate dark suits walked in. They didn't look like airport security. They looked like reapers.
They approached Vanessa’s private booth, sitting across from her without being invited.
"Excuse me, this area is reserved," Vanessa snapped, setting her champagne down.
"Ms. Sterling," the taller man said, sliding a thick manila envelope across the table. "Mr. Romano sends his regards."
Vanessa’s blood ran cold. Her hands shook as she opened the envelope. Inside were high-resolution photographs of Marcus Thorne, beaten, broken, and sitting in an undisclosed basement. The next photo was of a digital ledger, showing the exact cryptocurrency transfer she had made to the private investigator.
"He knows," she whispered, the color draining from her perfectly manicured face.
"He knows everything," the enforcer confirmed quietly. "You have crossed a line that the Romano family does not forgive. Your accounts are permanently seized. Your passport has been flagged by Interpol on an anonymous tip regarding corporate espionage. You cannot return to the United States. You cannot access your family’s wealth."
"He can't leave me with nothing!" Vanessa panicked, tears spilling over. "I'll starve!"
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The enforcer stood up, buttoning his jacket. "Mr. Romano’s exact words were: 'Let her experience what she inflicted upon my daughter.' You are a ghost now, Vanessa. If you attempt to contact the press, or return to New York, the next envelope we deliver will not contain photographs."
They walked away, leaving Vanessa utterly alone, stripped of her glamour, her power, and her future. The viper had finally lost its fangs.
