Chapter 3 - Bleeding the Beast
It took Marcus less than four hours to uncover the truth. The Vargas family was a house of cards. They weren't just wealthy socialites; they were desperately drowning in high-interest debt to offshore lenders.
“Look at this,” Marcus said, turning his laptop toward me. Spreadsheets and wire transfers mapped a trail of financial bleeding. “Isabella hasn’t made a legitimate profit in her real estate firm in three years. She owes millions to a shadow syndicate out of Bogota. The Miami villa wasn’t just a power play, Sarah. It was a ransom payment.”
The revelation hit me like a physical blow. They hadn’t targeted Chloe because they disliked her; they targeted her as a financial lifesaver. They needed the deed to the villa to save their own lives from the cartel.
“If she doesn't get the villa...” I started.
“She defaults,” Marcus finished, his eyes gleaming with dark satisfaction. “And those lenders don’t take the family home. They take the family. We don't even have to touch Isabella. We just have to make sure her creditors know she's broke.”
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I felt a wicked sense of justice blooming in my chest. “How do we do that?”
“I still have friends in intelligence,” Marcus said softly. “It’s amazing what a few strategically leaked financial documents can do to a reputation.”
