The Black Swan Helmsley Novels & Stories

“Good. Because I found something.” I didn’t even take off my jacket. “Tell me.” He grabbed his bag. “You were right. Helixis moved her too fast, but they slipped. I traced an internal message relay, and it led me to one of their executives.” “Which one?” My voice came out like gravel. “A man named Howard Blackwell.” He adjusted his glasses, his tone stiff with tension. “He has access to all transport logs. Meaning…” “He knows where Rose is,” I finished for him.

Worse, I had escaped under Professor Voss's protection. Unfortunately, I had checked Professor Selwyn's recent schedule. His public itinerary included the Black Council archive, a research summit in Vienna, and a private lecture in Edinburgh. Saint Orphia's was not listed. Neither was Ravenshade. Helena gave me the east guest suite. Then she handed me a stack of property files. "Choose one," she said. I raised an eyebrow. "You're giving me property now..." "A safe place," Helena corrected. "You cannot depend on my house forever. And you should not return to your family without leverage."

she paused, typed something, squinted at the screen "roughly forty two million dollars moved out of Blackwood Global and through a chain of entities that terminates at a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands." The dining room was very quiet. "Forty two million," Ethan said. His voice was perfectly even. "That's the conservative estimate," Priya said. "I've only been here four hours." I watched Ethan. He was standing with his arms folded, looking at the screen with the concentrated stillness of a man who is deciding exactly how angry to allow himself to feel. The vein at his jaw was visible. His breathing was even but deep. "The holding company," he said. "Does it trace back to Cas

Helena smiled, assuming he was talking about the outfit or their son. “Isn't he? I knew you'd like it! We should buy more clothes like this for him, to take away that serious look!” “Hmm.” Henrique made a sound of agreement. With a fluid movement, he took his wallet out of his jacket pocket, pulled out a matte black card—the legendary unlimited Black Card that Helena had only seen in movies—and handed it to her over his shoulder. “Here.” Helena blinked, staring at the small piece of plastic that was worth more than her entire life.

A few mouths opened, prepared to refute him but the calm, impassive look on his face shut them down before a single sound could escape. “All of this,” he said mildly, deceptively so, “could have been a well-documented copy of a contract on my desk by tomorrow morning.” Angela Winston cleared her throat, tucking her strawberry-blonde bob neatly behind her ears. She had been the one to pull him from his thoughts. “You’re the chairman and highest shareholder in the company. This is a 1.2 billion-dollar acquisition. We have to include you, Declan.” She said his name softly, almost carefully but the dark look on his face didn’t lighten.

"But what if he didn't?" He cross-references the Cayman Islands fund. Black Swan Capital LLC. Board of directors: Five names. All using corporate aliases. But the signature patterns match. One director: M. Castellano Holdings Ltd. Another: R. Sterling Ventures. A third: M. Hale International. "M. Hale," I whisper. "Michael Hale. It's him." Gabriel looks at me, the blue light reflecting in his dark eyes. "If Michael Hale Sr. faked his death in 1991, he's been operating offshore for thirty-three years. Building a retribution fund."

A tall man with dark hair trailed behind her, stopping to pop a strawberry in his mouth before catching up. “You must be Olivia Statler,” the woman greeted me, extending her hand. I shook it, surprised to find it strong and calloused. “Yes, and you must be Isabel Black,” I replied. I had heard that the wife of the hotel magnate, Noah Black, still worked daily with sharks. Her strong grip and suntanned skin pretty much confirmed that. I was slightly surprised. I figured that anyone who married into billions would relax into a life of leisure, but from what I had heard, she had actually increased the extent of her research.

“Yes, sir.” “Activate Protocol Black.” There was a brief pause on the other end. Then Collins replied calmly. “Already in motion.” Helena’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?” Alexander looked directly at her. “I let you think you were winning.” For the first time all night Helena looked uncertain. Vanessa glanced between them. “What’s Protocol Black?” Alexander’s voice remained calm. “A failsafe.” Helena’s gaze sharpened. “For what?” Alexander slipped the phone back into his pocket.

A tall man with dark hair trailed behind her, stopping to pop a strawberry in his mouth before catching up. “You must be Olivia Statler,” the woman greeted me, extending her hand. I shook it, surprised to find it strong and calloused. “Yes, and you must be Isabel Black,” I replied. I had heard that the wife of the hotel magnate, Noah Black, still worked daily with sharks. Her strong grip and suntanned skin pretty much confirmed that. I was slightly surprised. I figured that anyone who married into billions would relax into a life of leisure, but from what I had heard, she had actually increased the extent of her research.

I’ll even help you deal with any of them. “And how would I know you won’t back stab me?” “The same way I know you won’t. It’s not your reputation. Look up Black Dogs. You know of them?” “Order of mercenaries.” “Bingo,” the man said. “Asked them about Vanargand.” “I see.” “You heard of the name?” “It’s another name for Fenrir, monster-wolf of Norse mythology.” “I thought using Fenrir could be copyright infringement, or just piss the guy off.” “That would be unwise.”