Chapter 587
Chapter 587:
Eliza laughed softly. “I was just the judge. They did the hard work p>
She picked up the Azure Dragon Seal from the desk and held it toward the camera. Then her smile faded slightly.
“I also played executioner. Wendy is gone, Dallas. She escaped p>
Dallas’s expression hardened instantly. The warmth drained from his eyes, replaced by the cold, calculating stare of Vanguard-001.
“I know,” he said, his voice dropping to a low, measured register. “Alistair briefed me. He’s on his way to a secure location in Argentina. Simon decrypted the rest of the data from the hard drive p>
Eliza nodded and drew the silver drive from her pocket.
D𝗼𝘸𝗻𝗹𝗈a𝘥𝖺𝗯𝘭e 𝖯𝘋𝖥𝘀 o𝗻.с𝗼𝗆
“Vanguard-001,” she said. “Alistair told me everything. What does it mean, Dallas? What is this family really doing p>
Dallas gripped the edge of a weight bench.
“It’s the real reason my parents were murdered,” he said. “It’s the reason Wendy betrayed us. The Koch family doesn’t just control money, Eliza. We control the balance. The Vanguard network was created by our ancestors to serve as a check on absolute power — a secret council. But it was corrupted from within p>
He leaned forward. “Wendy didn’t run away to hide. She went to find the only person who can protect her from me p>
“Who?” Eliza asked, her heart quickening.
“Vanguard-002,” Dallas said. “The traitor p>
A chill ran the length of Eliza’s arms. There was another one. Someone with the same level of training and power as Dallas.
“Who is he?” she demanded.
“You will find out soon enough,” Dallas said, his eyes burning with fierce protectiveness. “I’m done with physical therapy. I’m coming back to the command center. Lock the doors, Eliza. Trust no one p>
The call disconnected abruptly.
Eliza sat in the quiet room. The silence felt suddenly heavy and dangerous.
She looked down at the hard drive in her hand.
Her phone vibrated sharply on the desk.
She picked it up. The message was from an unknown, encrypted number.
Welcome to the game, Mrs. Vanguard-001. I look forward to breaking you.
Eliza stared at the glowing screen.
She did not tremble. She did not cry.
She closed her hand slowly into a fist, her knuckles turning white, her eyes burning with the cold, terrifying fire of the Koch Matriarch.
“Come and try,” she whispered to the empty room.
She did not delete the message. She kept her eyes locked on the screen, her thumb hovering over the glass, her knuckles white from the force of her grip.
Then the heavy French doors of the private study were shoved open.
The wood struck the wall with a loud, violent crack.
Eliza snapped her head up.
Adrian Vance, heir to the Vance intelligence empire and a deep-cover strategic ally of the Koch family, strode into the room. As head of their joint shadow-surveillance network, he was one of the few men with the clearance to bypass the estate’s security. He was not wearing his usual perfectly tailored jacket. His tie was wrenched open, his chest heaving, his face a mask of absolute, terrifying gravity.