Chapter 20 - The Digital Counter-StrikeBack in the city, safe inside my Tribeca apartment with all doors bolted, we finally opened the leather-bound ledger under the harsh light of the kitchen island.
“Who sent him?” Sienna asked, shaking as she poured herself a glass of water.
“Someone who knew we would go to the estate,” I said, turning the crisp pages. “Someone who had access to Arthur Vance’s personal calendar before he passed away.”
I flipped to the back of the ledger, where a list of corporate entities and bank routing numbers was meticulously detailed.
“Look at this,” I pointed to a specific company name highlighted in red ink: Meridian Operations LLC.
Sienna’s eyes widened. “Meridian? That’s the same shell company Dad used to funnel hush money back when the scandal first broke.”
“No,” I corrected, tracing my finger along the margin notes. “Dad didn’t create Meridian. He was being extorted by them. Look at the dates. Every time Dad tried to clean up the company, Meridian threatened to expose his past unless he handed over operational control.”
“Who runs Meridian now?” Aaron asked, leaning over my shoulder.
I turned the final page. Clipped to the back cover was a printed corporate registry document dated three weeks ago.
The name listed as the managing director wasn’t a stranger.
It was Richard Vance Jr.—Arthur’s son, a man who had supposedly severed ties with his father decades ago, and who currently sat on the board of directors for the Sterling Trust.
The call was coming from inside the house. Literally.
“He’s on the board,” Sienna whispered in horror. “He voted with us on the restructuring plan last month.”
“He didn’t want to destroy the trust,” I realized, a cold fury settling in my chest. “He wanted to take it over piece by piece by creating a manufactured crisis.”
“What do we do?” Aaron asked. “Do we go to the police?”
“The police take months,” I said, picking up my laptop. “We don’t have months. Richard is planning a hostile takeover vote at tomorrow morning’s emergency board meeting.”
I opened our secure company portal.
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“If Richard wants a war on the public stage, we’re going to give him one. But this time, we write the script.”
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