Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO WANTED ME TO WIN
Marcus Vale did not want Bennett to win.
He did not want Ashbourne to lose.
He wanted me specifically.
That was worse.
His second message arrived directly.
Secure email.
No trace.
Win NordTech.
I stared.
Rebecca stood beside me.
“That’s not a threat.”
“No.”
“It’s an instruction.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I had a theory.
I hated it.
“Because the controlling option activates only if Ashbourne owns NordTech.”
“And?”
“And Marcus wants Northstar activated.”
Rebecca’s face changed.
“Why?”
“To access old route systems.”
NordTech’s modern technology combined with Northstar’s legacy infrastructure could create a logistics network more powerful than either company alone.
Ports.
Rail.
Freight.
Security.
Global movement.
Marcus didn’t care about ownership.
He cared about access.
I called Erik.
“Can the controlling option be separated from operational access?”
He frowned.
“Maybe.”
“How?”
“Win NordTech. Activate Northstar. Immediately transfer the option into a regulated trust.”
“Before Marcus can use it?”
“If we move quickly.”
That became the plan.
Not revenge.
Not beating Sophia.
Containment.
Sophia withdrew Bennett’s bid publicly.
Privately, she gave us intelligence.
Every number Bennett had.
Every financing route.
Every weakness.
It felt strange working with her.
She noticed.
“You hate this.”
“Yes.”
“Me?”
“Some days.”
Fair.
She nodded.
“I can live with that.”
We submitted Ashbourne’s final bid.
€1.17 billion.
Below our original ceiling.
Bennett out.
NordTech accepted.
The announcement hit markets within minutes.
Then chaos.
Northstar activated automatically.
Our legal team moved the patents into a newly created regulated foundation.
Marcus moved faster.
Someone breached NordTech’s secondary system.
Rebecca shouted from across the operations room.
“Unauthorized access.”
“Where?”
“External node.”
“Can we shut it down?”
“Erik?”
He was already typing.
“Trying.”
A map appeared.
Shipping routes lit up.
Thirty-two ports.
Then one red line.
Rotterdam to New York.
I frowned.
“What is that?”
Erik’s face changed.
“Legacy route.”
“Cargo?”
“Yes.”
“What cargo?”
He opened archived manifests.
Then went pale.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“Your father flagged this route before he died.”
“For what?”
“Missing containers.”
My stomach tightened.
“Contents?”
“Unknown.”
Then Ethan called.
I answered.
“Claire.”
He sounded terrified.
“What?”
“Marcus contacted me.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he say?”
“That the route is live again.”
My blood went cold.
“Meaning?”
“He’s moving something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ethan.”
“I don’t.”
Then his voice dropped.
“But he asked about Lily.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“He said Quinn blood opens the final authorization.”
I stood.
“Lily is two.”
“I know.”
“What does he mean?”
Ethan swallowed.
“Your father put biometric inheritance locks on Northstar.”
I stared.
“Biometric?”
“Family DNA.”
My blood went cold.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“And Lily’s?”
“Yes.”
I whispered,
“He needs one of us.”
Then Rebecca turned from the window.
Her face drained.
“Claire.”
“What?”
She held up her phone.
Live security footage from my mother’s house.
A man stood at the gate.
Gray hair.
Black coat.
May you like
Marcus Vale.
And in his hand was Lily’s yellow rabbit.
