Chapter 120: The Ridge Sentinel

Chapter 120: The Ridge SentinelThe storm over the Hudson Valley was really bad at midnight. It tore through the pine trees that lined the steep road to the ridge. The armored Escalade drove through the storm, its windows getting hit with rain as it made its way up the final mountain turns. After the corporate wars in Brussels and the problems in the French Riviera, going back to their private place felt more like a military deployment than coming home.Julian sat in the dark back seat, his big body straight and giving off a lot of energy. His dark shirt was open at the neck. His jaw was set in a hard line. His gray eyes kept looking at the estate's security dashboard. His big hand was on Elena's back holding her close to him. This showed that he was in charge of her safety as they entered their borders, which had been compromised.Elena had her high-security command unit on her lap. Its blue light shone on her face. She had a quartz pendant around her neck and a silver band on her ha

Chapter 121: The Foundations of Betrayal

Chapter 121: The Foundations of BetrayalThe heavy iron vault door fully opened with a mechanical sound. This let in a wave of filtered air into the damp stone hallway. Inside the server towers made a pitched humming noise. It sounded like the steady heartbeat of a trapped animal.Thomas Vance stood in front of Terminal 04. His hands stopped moving over the keyboard. He was Baron Hendrick Vance's nephew. Thomas had been the logistics coordinator for the estate for five years. He had worked with the Vane framework for a time. Julian had become the chairman. Thomas had been there before that. He was a careful person. Thomas had managed the estate's transit lists with accuracy.Now Thomas looked different. His face turned pale under the lights. His eyes moved quickly to the monitor. The VALE_09 decoy files had just finished a deletion process.Julian entered the room first. He was very tall. Blocked the exit. His presence made the air in the vault feel tight. Thomas had trouble breathing

Chapter 122: The Manhattan Re-alignment

Chapter 122: The Manhattan Re-alignmentThe wood fire in the library was crackling, the only sound competing with the heavy rain hitting the big windows of the villa. The room was a space with dark wood shelves, old leather books and comfy velvet armchairs but it felt tense, like a war room.Julian stood by the fireplace with a glass of scotch in his hand. He wasn't drinking it. He wore a black sweater and his big frame looked strong and alert. His gray eyes reflected the flickering flames staring out into the dark valley. His business empire was secure. He was still on high alert.Elena sat at the oak desk typing away on the computer. She had a charcoal shawl wrapped around her and a raw quartz pendant hung still against her neck. On her hand a simple silver band caught the warm light of the fire as she worked on some encrypted files from Thomas Vance's device."Thomas wasn't just talking to Geneva, " Elena said, her voice clear and calm. She worked her magic on the files uncoveri

All Chapters of DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH : Chapter 121 - Chapter 123

Chapter 120: The Ridge Sentinel

Chapter 121: The Foundations of Betrayal

Chapter 122: The Manhattan Re-alignment