Chapter 9 – The Flight to Zurich
Natalie’s aircraft crossed the Atlantic while Reed coordinated with authorities through an encrypted phone.
Maya sat across from Natalie, studying financial records.
Officer Ramirez remained in Virginia to protect Natalie’s home and secure Dr. Mercer’s arrest warrant.
Natalie watched the flight map.
Every inch toward Europe felt painfully slow.
“Tell me the truth,” she said to Reed. “What happens if Harrison gets Tyler’s signature?”
“The accounts consolidate under a new trust.”
“And?”
“Harrison transfers the money, destroys the original structure, and claims Tyler authorized everything.”
“He’s a child.”
“In Switzerland, the documents would still require adult trustees. Harrison controls those trustees.”
“And the transaction under my name?”
“It activates at the same time.”
“So I become the thief.”
“That’s the plan.”
Natalie looked out at the darkness beyond the window.
“Why $3.8 million?”
Maya answered.
“Because it’s believable.”
Natalie turned.
“Seventy million would look like a sophisticated criminal operation. Three point eight million looks like a desperate mother stealing from her wealthy ex-husband.”
Harrison had designed the accusation around her life.
Her job loss.
Her legal bills.
Her smaller home.
He had turned every ordinary struggle into evidence of greed.
Reed’s phone vibrated.
He read the message Tyler had sent.
“We have a location.”
Relief flooded Natalie.
Then Reed received a second alert.
His expression changed.
“What happened?”
“Swiss police reached the bank.”
“And?”
“Harrison was gone.”
Natalie stood so quickly her seat belt caught her.
“Where did he take Tyler?”
“The bank’s security director helped them leave through an underground garage. We have footage of two vehicles.”
“Track them.”
“One went toward the airport. The other headed south.”
“Which vehicle has Tyler?”
“We don’t know.”
Natalie forced herself to think.
Harrison always created choices for his enemies.
Two companies.
Two attorneys.
Two possible explanations.
One path attracted attention while the other stayed hidden.
She remembered a vacation in Switzerland when Tyler was four. Harrison had taken them to a secluded property near Lake Lucerne.
He claimed it belonged to a client.
Natalie had later discovered it was owned by one of his shell companies.
“The airport vehicle is a distraction,” she said.
Reed looked at her.
“Harrison has a house near Lake Lucerne.”
“Do you remember the address?”
“No. But I remember the view.”
Maya opened satellite maps.
Natalie described the long stone driveway, the private dock, the red-roofed chapel across the water, and the mountain rising behind the property.
After twenty minutes, Maya found it.
The villa was registered to Tyler Vale International Licensing.
Reed sent the coordinates to Swiss authorities.
The pilot announced their descent into Zurich.
Natalie closed her eyes and whispered the words Tyler had spoken at the airport.
May you like
“Don’t cry. Wait for me.”
She had waited long enough.
