Chapter 6 - Ashes of Mercer Island
The primary support pillars of the west wing detonated simultaneously.
A sound like thunder tore through the foundation of the estate. Thousands of tons of stone, concrete, brick, and glass collapsed inward, burying the upper levels of the mansion and crushing the black van blocking the driveway under an avalanche of falling rubble.
The shockwave blew out the remaining lights in the garage, plunging the space into absolute darkness, save for the bright orange glare of fires raging at the top of the ramp.
"Drive!" Declan barked.
Camille slammed her foot onto the accelerator. The heavy armored Maybach roared to life, its twin-turbo V12 engine screaming as the car surged forward, crashing straight through the burning debris and splintered steel at the top of the driveway.
The car burst out into the pouring Seattle rain, swerving wildly onto the slick asphalt of the main road.
In the rearview mirror, Declan watched his thirty-million-dollar estate collapse into a massive, burning pile of rubble against the gray, stormy sky. Twenty years of history, millions of dollars in art, and the ghosts of his past were consumed by fire in seconds.
Inside the car, total silence reigned, broken only by the heavy breathing of the three survivors and the rhythmic wiping of the windshield wipers.
Dr. Aris was weeping softly in the backseat, clutching his bruised ribs.
Camille’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as she drove through the winding, tree-lined streets of Mercer Island, heading toward the freeway.
Declan sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead at the rain-streaked road.
"Where is Tessa?" Camille asked quietly after a long moment.
Declan didn't turn his head. "She got to the panic room. The east wing cellar is reinforced with six inches of solid titanium. She's safe."
"You saved a maid," Camille murmured, a faint hint of irony in her tone. "The great syndicate boss saved a girl who scrubs his floors, while he blew up his own life."
"She was the only person in that house who told me the truth today," Declan replied, his voice colder than the rain outside.
He reached over, picked up the leather duffel bag from Dr. Aris’s lap, and pulled out the encrypted hardware wallets and the master ledger.
"Hey! That's mine!" Dr. Aris protested from the back.
Declan turned around slowly, drawing his Sig Sauer, and pressed the cold steel barrel directly against Dr. Aris's forehead.
"You have five seconds to give me one reason why I shouldn't throw you out of this moving car right now, Doctor," Declan said softly.
Dr. Aris froze, his eyes wide with absolute terror, sweat dripping from his chin. "I... I know where Vanguard’s secondary server is! In Vancouver! I set up the encrypted portal for Camille! If you kill me, you'll never be able to trace the accounts or stop their mercenaries from coming after you!"
Declan stared at the terrified doctor for three agonizing seconds. Then he slowly lowered the gun.
"You're driving to Vancouver, Camille," Declan said, looking back at his wife.
May you like
"Vancouver?" she echoed, turning her head to look at him in shock. "Declan, Vanguard has an entire army stationed in British Columbia! If we go there, we're walking directly into the slaughterhouse!"
"They took my home," Declan said, his eyes darkening into twin pools of black ice. "They took my life. And they used you to turn my entire empire into a ghost story. We're not running to Zurich, Camille. We're going to Vancouver, and we're going to rip Vanguard apart from the inside out."
