Page 30 of Hemmed

“Victoria, I’d much rather listen to your sweet voice than AJ’s babbling. Go ahead, honey. Just do it quick. I’m aging by the minute.”

“Yes, sir. Krauss has billions. We already knew that. Most of it is spread around the world, but ironically, there wasn’t much in Canadian accounts. At first, we thought it could be the exchange rate preventing him from doing it, but we’re talking about pennies. He wouldn’t care about that.”

“Is he in trouble in Canada? Legal issues?” asked Gaspar.

“Close,” smiled Victoria. “He has an ex-wife there.” She smiled at the room, waiting for them to catch up. It was Jean that realized what she was saying.

“The ex-wife is his partner,” he said quietly.

“Yes,” smiled Victoria. “Her name is Yulia Federovavich.”

“No,” said Gaspar, shaking his head. “No, no, no. Don’t tell me that she’s the daughter of Yuli Federova.”

“She is the daughter of Yuli Federova. He died fourteen years ago at the age of ninety-one in a Russian prison. And not a good one, if there is such a thing. He always vowed to rise to the top again. About that time, Krauss divorced Yulia, leaving her in Quebec. She’s lived there for most of her adult years for her own protection from her father’s enemies.”

“Does she live in the mansion?” asked Nine.

“No,” smiled Victoria. “She lives in another mansion. This one.” The photo of the mansion was unlike anything that the men had seen before. Sitting on a massive property near water.

“Where is that?” asked Nine.

“It’s on Île d’Orléans, lying between the split of the St. Lawrence River. There are a couple of hotels on the island, a stable, an observation tower, but that’s pretty much it. That home is estimated to be forty-seven thousand square feet. Forty-seven,” she repeated. “I say estimated because no one actually knows. There are cellars, towers, safe rooms, all of it. According to my research, she rarely leaves the island. She went back to Russia for her father’s funeral and left immediately after the ceremony.”

“What’s her part in all of this?” asked Gaspar. Victoria looked at her adoptive father, and he smiled, nodding at her.

“Is this cool with you, Mo? If it’s too much for her, we can talk to AJ,” said Ian.

“No, it’s fine,” he smiled. “Victoria is obviously extremely mature, and she wants to stop what’s happening here. I’ll let her give you the details, but we think that Yulia is running the trafficked women through her island.” The whole room echoed with the same sentiment.

“Shit.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“If you think about it, she has the perfect situation,” said Victoria. “She lives on a remote island, by all accounts controlling everything that happens there. She has access to the St. Lawrence River, which would allow for ships passing through to take women off the island undetected and into the Atlantic toward Europe, India, Asia, anywhere.”

“So Krauss and his ex-wife are in this together,” said Ghost. “Why? They’re both rich beyond belief and have their own little side ventures happening. Why coordinate efforts on this one?”

“It’s just a theory,” said Victoria, staring at the men.

“We like theories,” smiled Nine.

“Well, my theory is that she found out what he was doing and wanted in on it. She gave him an opportunity to either partner with her or she’d take all of it over, or turn him in. I don’t think he wanted her as a partner, but she didn’t give him another option.”

“We’ve met a lot of women capable of something like this, but if she had her own money, her own business, why do this?” asked Gaspar.

“Again, my theory, sirs, is that she didn’t want her husband to have any piece of this. Her father owned the trafficking in and out of Russia. She took it over from her base in Canada. When she found the ex was doing the same, but with a twist, she wanted in on that.”

“And Canada suspects nothing?” asked Ian.

“Oh, they absolutely suspect,” said Victoria. “She’s been brought in numerous times under suspicious circumstances. Women found dead that had been reported missing, girls abused and left for dead or addicted to drugs, all whispering her name.”

“Okay. Okay, Victoria. Beautiful job, hun. How do we get to her?” asked Ghost.

“Krauss. She needs him. He’s willing to travel the world, handle the dirty jobs. She needs him. If you have him, you’ll get her.” Nine shook his head.

“Victoria, are we going to lose you to Naval Intelligence as well?” he smirked. Victoria looked at Hayes and smiled.

“If it’s okay with you, sirs, I’d like to just stay here and work. I’m working on my second PhD, but I love what I’m doing here. Can I stay?” Nine looked at Mo, who had a sad expression on his face.

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