Chapter 15 - The Escape to the Rooftop
The revelation hung in the freezing air between them, but Victoria’s expression did not soften. Her analytical mind processed the terrible mathematics of the situation in a fraction of a second. If Julian had split his soul into two vessels, the equation couldn't be balanced by erasing only one variable. Both sides of the ledger had to be zeroed out simultaneously.
"A clever diversion," Victoria said, her tone clinical, though her hand gripped her stylus tighter. "But a backup drive is merely a secondary ledger. It can be formatted."
"You mean kill me?" Elena asked, a grim smile touching her lips. "I’m ready. Just let me see the bastard fall first."
"An Actuary does not waste viable assets," Victoria said cryptically, grabbing Elena’s wrist and pulling her up the final flight of stairs toward the roof access hatch. "Keep moving."
They kicked open the metal door and stepped out onto the rooftop helipad. The storm over Manhattan had intensified into a supernatural cyclone, the sky above swirling with violent violet clouds that mirrored the tempest above Blackwood Manor.
Standing at the center of the helipad, trying to board a waiting, rotor-spinning helicopter, was Arthur Sterling. But the aircraft wouldn't lift off; spectral iron chains had erupted from the concrete, binding the landing skids to the roof. The Manor was refusing to let its debtor fly away.
May you like
Arthur turned around as the metal door banged shut behind them. His tuxedo was shredded, and his skin was shifting rapidly—one moment appearing thirty, the next sagging into the ancient, liver-spotted visage of a three-hundred-year-old man.
"You're too late, clerk!" Arthur shrieked over the roar of the wind and rotors. "The transfer is already initiating!"
