The Call to New Zealand

"The sheep farmer was the key," she said, cutting him off. "And I'm going to shear him."

Elena grabbed Silas's phone. Her hands were shaking, not from cold, but from rage. She dialed the number for Julian Hawthorne, the number she had pulled from the trust documents years ago but never used.

It rang. One. Two. Three.

"Who is this?" A voice. Not calm. Annoyed.

"It's the bank," Elena said. "And I'm closing the account."

Silence on the line. Then a click. He hung up.

"He's spooked," Silas said, wiping blood from his forehead. "He won't answer again."

"He will," Elena said. "Because he thinks he's winning. And winners always want to hear the concession speech."

She texted him.

*I have the baby's medical records. The ones you didn't see. The ones that prove he's allergic to strawberries.*

She hit send.

Ten seconds later, the phone rang.

"What are you talking about?" Julian's voice was tight. "The kid is healthy."

"Is he?" Elena asked. "Or is he just another defective Hawthorne? Like Bella? Like the ones in Switzerland?"

"Don't play games with me, Elena. I'm on a plane."

"I know," she said. "N-4-2-2-H-A. Teterboro to Queenstown via Chicago. Nice jet. Did you buy it with the hush money, or the rent?"

Julian laughed, a low, humorless sound. "You're smarter than Marcus gave you credit for. But you're still a liability."

"I'm a liability with a laptop full of evidence," Elena lied. "And I'm about to email it to the SEC unless you tell me where my son is."

"He's safe," Julian said. "He's with family."

"Which family? The one that tries to kill each other for sport?"

"The one that survives," Julian said. "Marcus and Seraphina are weak. They let emotion get in the way of business. They let *you* get in the way."

"And you're strong?"

"I'm pragmatic," Julian said. "I saw an opportunity. The trust was stagnant. The assets were vulnerable. I just accelerated the inevitable."

"By killing a baby?"

"By securing the line," Julian corrected. "Leo is an asset. A key. Once the trust vests, he becomes... redundant."

Elena felt sick. "You're going to kill him."

"I'm going to adopt him," Julian said. "After his tragic loss of parents. It's cleaner that way. No messy divorces. No custody battles. Just a grieving uncle stepping up to do the right thing."

"You're a monster."

"I'm a businessman," Julian said. "And right now, business is good."

"Business is about to crash," Elena said. "Because I know about Bella."

The line went dead silent.

"What did you say?" Julian whispered.

"I know she's yours," Elena said. "I know Seraphina didn't just use you for rent. She used you for breeding stock. Because Marcus was shooting blanks, wasn't he? The sterilization worked."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I have the DNA test," Elena lied again. "Bella gave it to me. Before she got on the helicopter. She knows, Julian. She knows her 'uncle' is her father."

"That's impossible."

"Is it?" Elena asked. "Look at her face. Look at her eyes. She's you, Julian. She's you with better hair."

She heard a sound on the other end. A glass breaking.

"If you touch her," Julian snarled, "I will hunt you down."

"You're already hunting me," Elena said. "But now the prey has teeth."

She took a breath.

"I want a trade," she said.

"What trade?"

"The drive for the boy. I delete the files. I burn the laptop. You get your empire. I get my son."

"You don't have the drive," Julian said. "Seraphina took it."

"I have the backup," Elena said. "The one Bella made. The one Kai uploaded to a dead man's switch. If I don't check in by sunrise, every news outlet in the world gets a copy."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Elena asked. "I walked into a lion's den with a fake bomb. Do you really think I'd leave my insurance policy in a handbag?"

Julian was silent for a long time. The hum of the jet engines filled the void.

"Chicago," he said finally. "O'Hare. Private terminal. Hangar 4. Be there in three hours."

"I'm in New York," Elena said. "I can't make it in three hours."

"Then you better fly fast," Julian said. "Because the plane leaves at 6:00 AM. With or without you. But definitely with Leo."

Click.

Elena lowered the phone. She looked at Kai. She looked at Silas.

"We need a plane," she said.

"I can't get a plane," Kai said. "I'm a hacker, not a pilot."

"I can," Silas said. "I have a client. A hedge fund manager. He owes me a favor."

"Call him," Elena said. "Tell him it's a matter of national security."

"Is it?"

"It's a matter of Hawthorne security," Elena said. "Which is basically the same thing."

Silas made the call. Ten minutes later, they were in a cab heading for Teterboro.

Elena looked out the window at the city. It was still dark, but the sky was turning a bruised purple in the east.

"He's going to kill us," Kai said quietly. "You know that, right? He's not going to trade."

"I know," Elena said. "He's going to try."

"So what's the plan?"

"We don't trade," Elena said. "We take."

"How?"

"Julian thinks he's the only one with leverage," Elena said. "He thinks he's the only one who can play dirty. But he forgot something."

"What?"

"If you cut them off," Elena said, her eyes hard, "they will kill you. Metaphorically, if you're lucky."