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White Pawns
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2025-01-15 00:25:27Erasmus Medical Center has the best VIP rooms in the Netherlands, but for Vic, the luxurious room with Phillipe Starck interiors felt like a prison. It had been three days since Stefan had regained consciousness after surgery, and during that time she had not left his side except to take a shower in the private bathroom attached to the room.
“You need to rest,” Alexandra placed a Maison Kayser paper cup filled with café au lait on Stefan's bedside table. “We have a big battle ahead.”
Vic took a cup of coffee, feeling the warmth seep into his cold hands. “How did the last scan from the IT team go?”“They managed to break 60% of the encryption on the data I transferred.” Alexandra took out her iPad Pro, showing a series of complex graphs. “As you might have guessed, Red Lotus is not just another money laundering organization. They have a special division that focuses on manipulating the crypto market.”
“Crypto laundering,” Vic nodded. “Perfect platform to hide dirty funds. Untraceable, no strict regulations...”
“And papa was the pioneer.” Marcus entered with a black Rimowa bag. “Look what I found in his last safe house in The Hague.”
He pulled out an old Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, in near-perfect condition although it was probably more than ten years old. “Mom's laptop. The one she lost after the 'accident'.”
Vic almost dropped his coffee. “How come...”
“Papa kept it as a trophy.” Marcus snorted in disgust. “But he didn't know that mama was smarter than him. Look at this.”
Marcus opened the laptop, revealing something finely engraved on the inside of the case: a series of seemingly random numbers and letters.
“Encryption code?” Alexandra frowned.
“More than that.” Vic scrutinized the engraving more closely. “These are... coordinates? And the date?”
“July 7, 2010. A week before mama died.” Marcus nodded. “The coordinates point to a safe deposit box at UBS Private Banking Geneva.”
“Switzerland?” Alexandra raised an eyebrow. “Classic.”
“But effective,” Vic muttered, his brain spinning fast. “Swiss banking regulations on customer confidentiality are still the strictest in the world. Even Europol has trouble getting access to-”
A weak voice from the bed cut him off.
“If... if you're planning to rob a Swiss bank,” Stefan coughed softly, his eyes half-open, ”be sure to invite me.”
“Stefan!” Vic almost jumped out of his chair. “You're awake! Wait, I'll get the doc-”
“No,” Stefan held back his hand. “Listen first. There's something you should know about that safe deposit box.”
Alexandra approached. “Do you know anything?”
“My father... the previous Red Lotus leader...” Stefan swallowed with difficulty, “he once mentioned an asset in Switzerland. Something he called 'Maria's legacy'.”
Vic and Marcus exchanged glances. Maria - their mother's name.
“He said it was 'insurance' in case Professor Maharani tried to betray the organization.” Stefan continued. “But no one knew what it contained. Not even papa...”
His words were cut off by a cough. Vic quickly helped him drink.
“We have to go to Switzerland,” Marcus decided. “Before papa-”
“It's not that easy.” Alexandra cut in. “UBS Private Banking Geneva is no ordinary bank. Their system-”
“I know their system.” Vic smiled slightly. “I designed the last upgrade of their security system last year.”
All eyes were on him.
“What?” Vic shrugged. “Best financial forensics in the Netherlands, remember? Europe's top banks are my clients.”
“But still,” Marcus reminded, ”we need physical access to the safe deposit box. And for that we need...”
“A key.” Stefan finished. “Two keys, actually. One from the bank, one from the box owner.”
“And let me guess,” Alexandra smiled, ”you know where the owner's key is kept?”
Stefan nodded weakly. “In the most secure place in Europe. In my father's personal safe... in the basement of De Nederlandsche Bank.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Well,” Vic finally said, ”it looks like we're going to rob the bank where I work.”
“Not robbing,” Alexandra corrected. “We're going to... borrow temporarily.”
“And we have an advantage,” Marcus added. “De Nederlandsche Bank's Head of Security is a former Europol agent. My partner.”
“Plus,” Stefan smiled weakly, ”his fiancée is my father's personal secretary.”
Vic raised an eyebrow. “Since when did Gerard van der Meer have a fiancée?”
“Since two months ago.” Alexandra took out her cell phone, showing a photo of a middle-aged man with a beautiful young woman with red hair. “And you won't believe who introduced them.”
Vic looked at the photo more carefully. The young woman looked familiar...
“Oh my God,” he gasped. “Charlotte? My personal assistant?”
“Exactly.” Alexandra smiled with satisfaction. “I recommended her to you a year ago. And to Gerard two months ago.”
“You've been planning this since...”
“Since mom emailed you?” Alexandra nodded. “I've been preparing my own pieces, big brother. Waiting for the right moment to use them.”
Stefan coughed again, this time with a low chuckle. “And you still ask me why I fell in love with this family?”
Vic took Stefan's hand, feeling the warmth begin to return to his cold fingers. Outside, the Rotterdam sun was setting, casting long shadows on the marble floor of the VIP suite.
“So,” Marcus opened his other Rimowa bag, pulling out several files, ”when do we start?”
Vic looked at his brothers, then Stefan, and finally at mama's laptop that held her biggest secret. This chess game had gone on too long. It was time to end it.
“Soon,” he decided. “But first...”
He took out his cell phone, typing a short message to the number that had contacted him the other day:
Game on, papa. It's my turn to move the white pawn. - V
On his desk, the Maison Kayser paper cup still held the comforting aroma of café au lait. But Vic knew that after tonight, there would be no more peace in his life.
And strangely, he didn't mind at all.
Because in the Maharani family game, calm is just the illusion before the storm.
And the storm he's about to unleash... will change the European banking landscape forever.
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De Nederlandsche Bank's office in Amsterdam always looked grand, but that afternoon the neo-classical building looked different to Vic. Perhaps it was because now he saw her not as an employee, but as someone planning to breach its security system.“All set,” Charlotte whispered from a hidden earpiece linked to Europol's latest technology. Her personal assistant was now sitting in the bank's main lobby, pretending to wait for Gerard van der Meer for dinner.Vic watched his reflection in the glass of the private elevator that took him to the 32nd floor. The navy Stella McCartney blazer he wore perfectly concealed the equipment Marcus had given him. “System status?”“Clean,” Alexandra's voice came from the surveillance van parked two blocks from the bank. “CCTV has been looped for the next ten minutes. But remember - the backup system will activate automatically after that.”“Ten minutes,” Vic sighed. “More than enough to reach Gerard's safe.”“Don't be so sure,” Stefan warned from his
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The Credit Suisse Private Banking building on Paradeplatz Square stood proud with its neo-baroque architecture. Vic, who had just gotten out of a black Bentley Flying Spur, gazed at the white marble facade with a mixture of emotions that were hard to explain.“It's strange being back here,” Alexandra whispered beside him, smoothing her navy Bottega Veneta dress. “The last time I entered this bank, I was still one of its directors.”“And now we're going to hack into its systems,” Marcus added from his earpiece, still watching from the surveillance van parked near Zunfthaus zur Meisen. “How time changes everything.”Vic checked the Vacheron Constantin watch on his wrist. 08:45. “Stefan?”“System breach in progress,” Stefan's voice came from Rotterdam. “But Credit Suisse doesn't mess around with their security upgrades. It's going to take some time.”“How long?”“Fifteen minutes, minimum. And that's if there's no-” Stefan paused for a moment. “Wait. Something's weird.”“Define 'strange',
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The sound of gunfire in Rotterdam still echoed in Vic's ears as he stepped into UBS Private Banking. Alexandra followed beside him, Beretta pistol at the ready.“We should have saved him,” Alexandra whispered, guilt evident in her voice.“We will,” Vic replied coldly. “By finishing this.”The elevator took them to the 14th floor in eerie silence. A long white corridor stretched before them, its glass walls reflecting the golden afternoon sunlight.Room 1402.Vic pulled out the platinum key Gerard had given him, his fingers tracing the familiar carved rose. The same key Elizabeth van Houten held in that old photograph.“Ready?” he glanced at Alexandra.“No. But we've come too far to back out.”The door opened with a soft click. The room was bright and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying a panoramic view of Geneva. In the center of the room, an antique mahogany table.It was empty.“Too late?” Alexandra whispered, securing the corners of the room with her pistol.“No,” Vi
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The Price of Betrayal The Pawn Who Became Queen
The sound of gunfire in Rotterdam still echoed in Vic's ears as he stepped into UBS Private Banking. Alexandra followed beside him, Beretta pistol at the ready.“We should have saved him,” Alexandra whispered, guilt evident in her voice.“We will,” Vic replied coldly. “By finishing this.”The elevator took them to the 14th floor in eerie silence. A long white corridor stretched before them, its glass walls reflecting the golden afternoon sunlight.Room 1402.Vic pulled out the platinum key Gerard had given him, his fingers tracing the familiar carved rose. The same key Elizabeth van Houten held in that old photograph.“Ready?” he glanced at Alexandra.“No. But we've come too far to back out.”The door opened with a soft click. The room was bright and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying a panoramic view of Geneva. In the center of the room, an antique mahogany table.It was empty.“Too late?” Alexandra whispered, securing the corners of the room with her pistol.“No,” Vi
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Erasmus Medical Center has the best VIP rooms in the Netherlands, but for Vic, the luxurious room with Phillipe Starck interiors felt like a prison. It had been three days since Stefan had regained consciousness after surgery, and during that time she had not left his side except to take a shower in the private bathroom attached to the room.“You need to rest,” Alexandra placed a Maison Kayser paper cup filled with café au lait on Stefan's bedside table. “We have a big battle ahead.”Vic took a cup of coffee, feeling the warmth seep into his cold hands. “How did the last scan from the IT team go?”“They managed to break 60% of the encryption on the data I transferred.” Alexandra took out her iPad Pro, showing a series of complex graphs. “As you might have guessed, Red Lotus is not just another money laundering organization. They have a special division that focuses on manipulating the crypto market.”“Crypto laundering,” Vic nodded. “Perfect platform to hide dirty funds. Untraceable,
The Price of Betrayal Black Pawns
Time moves differently in the operating room of Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam.Vic stood in front of the thick glass window that separated him from the operating room, watching the team of doctors work to save Stefan's life. Beside him, Alexandra - who he now knew to be his half-sister - stood silently, still wearing the Cartier bracelet that was the key to everything.“The data transfer is complete,” Alexandra said quietly, her eyes not leaving the monitor that displayed Stefan's heartbeat. “All the evidence about Red Lotus, the identities of all its members, the illegal transactions over the past two decades... it's all in your system now.”“Why?” Vic didn't take his eyes off Stefan. “Why give it to me?”“Because you're the only one who can destroy them without destroying the European banking system.” Alexandra smiled slightly. “Isn't that your specialty? A 'calculated killer' who can execute a target with no collateral damage.”Before Vic could answer, the waiting room door open
The Price of Betrayal Buried Secrets
Alexandra Visser has always known that death is an art form.Fifteen years ago, she orchestrated her own death with the precision of a maestro. A fake corpse with manipulated DNA, carefully planted evidence, even precise calculations on how the ice in the vault would preserve her “remains”. All for one purpose - to destroy the Red Lotus from within.Now, standing in the dimly lit warehouse with a gun pointed at Victoria van der Wolff's head, he could almost feel his maestro-piece climaxing.“Put the gun down, Max,” he ordered without taking his eyes off Vic. “Unless you want this forensic darling of yours to join 'my body' in the safe.”Max didn't move. His hand was steady on the Glock, his eyes searching for openings - a habit they'd learned together at the secret Red Lotus academy all those years ago. “What exactly are you planning, Alex?”“You still don't understand?” Alexandra laughed softly. “All this time you thought you were protecting me, dear sister. But actually, I was the o
The Price of Betrayal The Hunter
Maximilian “Max” Reeves has never forgotten the gunshot that took his life fifteen years ago.No, he didn't die literally. But part of his soul was shattered when he heard the news that his father, De Nederlandsche Bank CEO Willem Visser, had ended his life in a prison cell with a contraband pistol. That same day her twin sister, Alexandra, disappeared without a trace.Now, standing on the veranda of the Four Seasons Hotel Amsterdam's Presidential suite, Max surveys the De Nederlandsche Bank building looming in the distance. Dawn light hits the top of its classic clock tower, creating the illusion of golden flames. Ironic, considering the storm he would soon unleash within.“Target secured?” The voice in his headset broke the reverie.Max took a sip of his espresso, letting the bitter liquid flow with the memories. “Victoria managed to find the safe, just as we predicted. Stefan and his team took it to the prepared location.”“And Alexandra's body?”“Right where they hid her all along
The Price of Betrayal Secrets in the Safe
Amsterdam has never looked so gloomy.Victoria “Vic” Dewi Maharani gazes at the imposing building of De Nederlandsche Bank through the windshield of her Audi RS e-tron GT parked at Oude Turfmarkt. November showers pound the city with low but persistent intensity, creating a curtain of water that refracts the streetlights into a spectrum of golden hues. The clock on the dashboard reads 23:47 - an unusual time to start a financial audit.But since when was life normal?Vic straightens his black Armani suit, making sure his special Forensic Finance name tag is perfectly in place. At 42 years old, he still looks stunning with his unique blend of Indonesian-Dutch features: piercing dark brown eyes, high cheekbones, and fair skin that contrasts with his shoulder-length black hair that is always neatly styled.“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Stefan van der Wolff, her 35-year-old husband, took her hand. Their platinum rings glistened faintly. “It can wait until tomorrow morning.”Vic
