Chapter 9 – THE GHOST IN THE HELICOPTER
The downdraft from the helicopter whipped across the lawn, violently rustling the trees and blowing debris from the shattered front doors into the air.
I shielded Noah with my body, pulling the wool blanket over his head.
Adrian stepped in front of us, shielding his eyes from the blinding spotlight. The NYPD officers drew their weapons, forming a perimeter around the landing zone.
The helicopter touched down heavily on the manicured grass.
The side door slid open.
Three men stepped out, wearing expensive, tailored suits. But it was the fourth man who made the blood freeze in my veins.
He was in his late sixties, leaning heavily on a silver-handled cane. He wore a long, dark overcoat. His face was sharp, aristocratic, and coldly familiar. He shared Adrian’s jawline and dark eyes, but where Adrian’s face held warmth, this man’s eyes were like frozen steel.
Victor Cole.
The billionaire patriarch who supposedly died in a boating accident off the coast of Monaco ten years ago.
The police officers kept their guns raised. “Halt! State your business!” the Captain shouted over the dying roar of the rotors.
Victor didn’t even look at the officers. He walked forward slowly, his cane thudding against the grass.
He stopped ten feet from Adrian.
“Hello, my son,” Victor said. His voice was smooth, cultured, and terrifyingly calm.
Adrian looked like he had seen a ghost. “You’ve been alive this whole time. For ten years.”
“I found it strategically necessary to remove myself from the public eye,” Victor replied casually. “The federal regulators were getting too close to my offshore accounts. My absence allowed you to rebuild the company beautifully, Adrian. You’ve done well.”
“You stayed away for ten years, and you decide to come back tonight?” Adrian’s voice shook with rage. “Sabrina works for you, doesn’t she? She didn’t plan this alone. You used her to get to the company.”
Victor offered a thin, patronizing smile. “Sabrina is a greedy, short-sighted fool. She wanted revenge for her father. I merely provided her the resources to infiltrate your life. Her instructions were simple: institutionalize the boy, have you declared emotionally unfit to lead the company, and pave the way for my corporate resurrection.”
He glanced toward the police cruisers where Sabrina had been taken. “Clearly, she failed.”
“She tried to murder your grandson!” I shouted, stepping out from behind Adrian.
Victor finally looked at me. His eyes were cold and dismissive. “Nannies shouldn’t speak out of turn.”
He turned back to Adrian. “Since Sabrina made a mess of the covert approach, I am here to clean it up. I’ve come for the boy.”
Adrian clenched his fists. “You will never touch him. You’re legally dead. You have no rights.”
Victor sighed, reaching into his overcoat. He pulled out a thick leather folder and tossed it onto the grass at Adrian’s feet.
“I am very much alive,” Victor said. “And I have spent the last six months re-establishing my legal identity with a highly cooperative federal judge. That folder contains an emergency, immediate custody order for Noah Cole.”
Adrian didn’t pick it up. “A judge wouldn’t grant that.”
“The judge saw reports of a home invasion, a fire, a deeply traumatized child, and a father who brought a murderer into his home,” Victor said smoothly. “Your household is a warzone, Adrian. As his grandfather, I am claiming emergency protective custody. I will take him to my estate in Switzerland, where he will be properly groomed to inherit my legacy.”
“No,” Noah whimpered, gripping my hand so tightly it hurt.
“He’s not going anywhere with you,” Adrian snarled. “Captain, arrest this man for conspiracy and fraud.”
The Captain took a step forward, but Victor’s three men suddenly shifted their jackets, revealing federal badges.
“My associates are FBI, Captain,” Victor said coldly. “They are here to enforce a federal court order. Interfere, and you’ll lose your badge.”
The Captain hesitated.
Victor stepped toward us, reaching his hand out toward Noah. “Come, boy. We have a flight to catch.”
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