Chapter 9 - THE EXTRACTION OF THE ROT
Adrian set the crystal glass down on his desk with a quiet, sharp CLINK.
He pulled his smartphone from his inner jacket pocket, tapped a single speed-dial contact, and brought the device to his ear.
"Marcus," Adrian commanded.
The voice of his chief of enforcement answered on the first ring from the estate’s subterranean security operations center. "Yes, Don Adrian?"
"Dr. Sean Mercer," Adrian said, his words measured and precise. "He operates a private cosmetic surgery clinic in Zurich under the name Hans Gruber. Send four men to Switzerland on the midnight transport. Bring him back to the warehouse in Red Hook. Unbroken. I have questions regarding medical logs from three years ago."
"Consider it done, Boss."
"And Marcus?"
"Sir?"
"Call legal counsel. Have every trust, every asset, every account, and every property bearing Claudia Vance’s name frozen under executive forfeiture protocols. Strip her name from the family foundation charters. When she leaves this property, she leaves with the clothes on her back and nothing else."
"Understood, sir."
Adrian ended the call. He slipped the phone back into his suit jacket and walked over to where Claudia sat curled on the marble floor.
He reached down, his large, tattooed hand clamping around her right wrist—the hand bearing the massive diamond ring that had torn Ruby’s blanket.
With two swift, effortless motions, Adrian slid the platinum ring off her finger.
Claudia cried out, reaching for it, but Adrian didn't even look at the jewel. He tossed the five-carat ring onto the desk, where it clattered against the wood, settling beside the hospital bracelet like an irrelevant piece of scrap metal.
"You wanted to throw my daughter’s blanket away," Adrian whispered, leaning down until his eyes were an inch from hers. "Now you know what it feels like to be discarded."
He stepped back and looked at the door.
"Thomas," Adrian called out.
The double doors opened instantly.
May you like
"Remove her from my estate," Adrian ordered coldly. "If her vehicle is seen within ten miles of this county by nightfall, bury it."
Thomas stepped forward, hauling Claudia to her feet by her arm, dragging her sobbing, broken frame out into the hallway as the heavy doors closed behind them, sealing the silence of the study once more.
