Chapter 9

The air in the port office tasted of ozone and rotting paper—the scent of a 1994 liquidation that never truly ended. Elias stood in the threshold, his pulse steady, eyes locked on the Enforcer. Kaelen, a man whose career was built on breaking fingers for the conglomerate, now stood with his back to the wall, his hand trembling as he pressed a pistol against Aunt Clara’s temple.

Clara didn’t look at Elias. She stared at the desk, where the original ledger lay open, its pages stained with the ink of a state-sanctioned murder.

"The cleanup crew is three minutes out, Elias," Kaelen rasped, his eyes darting toward the window. The sound of heavy tires crunched on the gravel outside. "They aren't here to negotiate. They’re here to burn this place to the ground with us inside."

Elias didn't reach for his own weapon. He reached for his phone, tapping the screen with deliberate, rhythmic precision. "They aren't here to save you, Kaelen. You’re the loose end. You think the Board lets a man who knows about the 1994 audit trail walk away?"

Kaelen’s grip on Clara tightened, but hi

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