Chapter 48 Negotiation
Eva had prepared for this. She had spent hours with Adrian and Leonard discussing what they were willing to give up for what they want and what they weren't willing to let go.
"We will give back the files we recovered from Helena's operations," she said. "We'll hand over everything that relates to the Consortium specifically. Names of your members, secret accounts details, transactions, and your dealings with clients. Nothing will come to light."
"That's a good offer, and what do you want in exchange?"
"We want information about Helena's location. And a guarantee that the Consortium will leave my family alone. Permanently."
Victor stayed quiet for a long moment.
"That's a considerable ask. But guarantees are... difficult in our line of work."
"Then let me be clearer." Eva leaned forward, her voice lowering. "You leave my family alone—my father, my brother, my children, Adrian, everyone connected to us. No, keeping an eye on us. No threats like before. And no 'accidents.' In return, we will only focus on exposing Helena and stop investigating the Consortium."
"You're asking me to trust that you'll honor that agreement."
"I'm asking you to understand that we don't care about your bigger operations. All we want is Helena because she tried to destroy us. Beyond that..." Eva spread her hands. "We don't care. We already have enough problems without making enemies with a secret group."
Victor studied her with new interest.
"Fine. You're more practical than I expected, Mrs. Fransis. Helena always described you as... naive."
"Oh, does she? She just underestimated me. That's why she lost."
A real smile appeared on Victor's face. It was small and quick, but it was genuine.
"Indeed, she did." He reached into his jacket pocket.
Adrian tensed, his hand moving toward his weapon.
But Victor only took out a small envelope and placed it on the table between them.
"Helena is currently in a villa in the south of France. The address is inside, along with details about her security setup." He pushed the envelope toward Eva. "Think of it as a sign of trust."
Eva didn't pick it up. Not yet.
"And the guarantee?"
"You'll have it. The Consortium will consider its business with the Fransis family concluded." Victor's eyes hardened.
"But understand this, Mrs. Fransis. This deal only works if you keep your part. If you keep investigating what we do, if you tell the authorities what you find, if you become a threat to us in any way..." He let the sentence hang.
"We won't," Eva said firmly. "We just want our lives back."
Victor nodded slowly.
"Then we have an agreement."
He stood up and carefully buttoned his jacket.
"One more thing," he said, pausing. "Helena is dangerous. More dangerous now that she's cornered. Whatever you're planning, don't underestimate her again."
"We won't. Thanks for the heads up."
Victor looked at her for a moment longer.
"I believe you," he said quietly. "You've changed, Mrs. Fransis. You're not the frightened girl Helena remembers." He almost smiled. "Maybe that's why she's so afraid of you now."
He turned and walked toward a side door Eva had not noticed before.
"Oh, and Mr. Cavanaugh?" He paused at the doorway. "The issue with your cousin, Marcus. The Consortium thought about stepping in back then but decided it wasn't our problem." His voice was almost gentle.
Adrian was shocked to hear Marcus's name from Victor's mouth.
"For what it's worth, we've always believed you acted in self-defense. Some families are simply... toxic." Victor finished.
Adrian froze for a heartbeat as the words sank in. The fight with Marcus was never far from his mind.
The memory of their last confrontation—Marcus lunging at him in that cramped kitchen, the broken bottle in his cousin's fist, the desperate scramble to get free—flickered behind his eyes.
He had acted to protect himself, but the guilt and suspicion had lingered for years.
Before Adrian could answer, Victor Chen slipped away into the shadows.
Now they were alone.
Eva opened the envelope with trembling fingers.
Inside, there was a single sheet of paper with an address on the French Riviera, along with detailed notes about the villa's layout, security details, and Helena's daily routine.
It was thorough, clearly put together by someone who had watched Helena closely.
"He's been watching her," Adrian observed, reading over Eva's shoulder. "Keeping tabs on his 'asset.'"
"Or keeping tabs on a problem he was thinking about getting rid of." Eva's stomach turned. "Do you think he was planning to kill her?"
"Possibly. Groups like the Consortium don't allow loose ends." Adrian took the paper and looked over the details.
"So, Helena…"
"But Helena knows too much." Adrian Continued. "Killing her would be risky for the Consortium. Helena is too cunning. She's probably left insurance or backup somewhere—information that would be released if anything happened to her."
"So he needed someone else to take care of the problem."
"And that is us." Adrian looked grim. "We capture Helena and hand her over to the police, she goes to prison for the crime she committed, and the Consortium's problem is solved without them getting their hands dirty."
Eva felt nauseous.
When they went for negotiation, they thought they were in control, but Victor Chen had been manipulating them the whole time.
Shame prickled at the back of Eva's neck, quickly giving way to a hot pulse of anger.
Victor wanted them to find Helena.
For a moment, fear twisted through her, the sickening realization that Victor had been several steps ahead from the start, pulling all their strings.
He had probably set up the threatening photo just to force them to act.
Eva clenched her fists under the table, her jaw tight with a resolve she refused to let go of.
She was used to cleaning up their problem.
This wasn't over. She would not let herself be used again.
They were only pawns in a larger game.
"Does it matter?" Eva asked quietly.
Adrian looked at her. "What do you mean?"