Keep it ready.’ Von Volker strode past his liveried chauffeur and up the steps leading to his ancestral home.Schloss Volker was a beautiful estate, built in the late 18th century by Erich Von Volker, Klaus’s ancestor.Erich had built his empire on two fronts. First, through transatlantic shipping and slave trade in Africa, backed by profitable gold and diamond mining on the continent. On the second front, Erich Von Volker had maintained a private standing army of mercenaries that protected his assets and fought wars for hire. Some of them had even fought for the Americans during the Revolutionary War, while Erich sold the young army weapons. He’d solidified his holdings through political favors and power.Things hadn’t changed much. Von Volker still maintained a few mining prospects in Africa, but the profits weren’t as good as in the past. Getting gold and blood diamonds out these days was extremely difficult. If he’d chosen to live in South Africa, he could have lived well.But his heart was here, in Austria, his ancestral homeland.
