The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 1690

Furthermore, she used to be from Solenia. She still held a sliver of sympathy for her homeland. If the price was right, she'd absolutely sell.

When Stephen James heard Claire's idea and got the full rundown of their predicament from Barrett, he didn't shoot it down.

Though, he wasn't thrilled about handing cash over to someone like Flora.

"Having the money is one thing, but what if she realizes how rich you are and decides to extort you?"

"Never underestimate human greed."

Stephen had worked countless cases. People murdered over loose change every day.

If Flora got a taste of Claire's wealth, what was stopping her from locking Claire in a room to print money for her?

Claire hadn't factored in the broader risks. Throwing money at the problem rarely solved everything cleanly.

"We're extremely close to the border. Once we physically get our hands on Silas, we just make a break for it."

Stephen didn't want to go in guns blazing, but if it was their only option, he could call in his tactical squad to wait at the border line.

It was only a few dozen miles. They could just ram their way through.

"That won't work," Barrett interjected, shutting down Stephen's plan.

"The syndicate won't let Captain Carl leave alive."

"They have scouts everywhere, sweeping the area daily."

"If I hadn't been forced into... this line of work, they probably would have snatched me off the street by now."

He had been wearing a mask, told that his face was strictly for paying clients, which was how he'd evaded syndicate spotters.

"Are the local authorities in bed with the syndicate?" It was the only logical conclusion Stephen could draw.

Getting into the Zen Marches was easy; getting out was the nightmare.

Every checkpoint ran meticulous searches, making smuggling Silas and Barrett out nearly impossible.

Furthermore, Silas had been slapped with a local arrest warrant for allegedly assaulting a high-ranking official.

The legal routes were entirely sealed off.

As for the illegal routes, that depended entirely on Flora.

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