Chapter 3 - The Price of Greed
The morning sun rose over the Vance estate, casting a cold, unforgiving light on the massive stone mansion.
Julian had not slept a single minute, spending the entire night sitting in an armchair next to Clara’s bed while she slept under heavy sedation.
His phone had not stopped ringing, vibrating constantly with messages from his lawyers, his public relations team, and his furious board of directors.
He ignored them all, deeply focused on the dark, simmering rage building inside his chest.
At noon, Julian finally left Clara under the protection of three armed guards and drove directly to the downtown police precinct.
He bypassed the front desk and walked straight into the sterile observation room where Detective Harrison was waiting.
Through the one-way glass, Julian watched Victoria Sterling sitting in an interrogation room in an orange jumpsuit.
She looked significantly older without her expensive makeup, her posture rigid with defiant arrogance despite her circumstances.
“She is facing multiple counts of kidnapping, extortion, and psychological torture,” Detective Harrison informed Julian quietly.
“But she still refuses to confess, claiming Clara was simply an undocumented worker with mental health issues who made up a fantasy.”
Julian let out a dark, humorless laugh that echoed harshly in the small room.
“She thinks she can lie her way out of this because she is used to buying her own reality,” Julian observed coldly.
“Let me speak to her.”
The detective hesitated for a moment before nodding and opening the heavy steel door for the furious billionaire.
Victoria looked up as Julian entered the room, a smug, venomous smile instantly appearing on her pale face.
“Julian, darling, you look terrible,” she mocked him smoothly.
Julian pulled out a metal chair and sat down across from her, his expression completely devoid of any human emotion.
“You did not do this just because you hated her, Victoria,” Julian stated, completely ignoring her pathetic attempts at manipulation.
“You are a creature of absolute greed, which means there is a financial trail connected to this entire operation.”
Victoria’s smug smile faltered for a fraction of a second, revealing the sudden panic hiding just beneath the surface.
Julian leaned across the metal table, his dark eyes boring directly into her soul.
“When Clara supposedly ran away, her entire trust fund and her shares in Vance Enterprises were transferred to a blind holding company,” Julian said.
“I spent four years thinking she took the money to start a new life away from me.”
He slammed his hand down on the table, making the metal vibrate violently.
“But she was in my basement the entire time.”
“So where is the two hundred million dollars, Victoria?” he demanded fiercely.
Victoria swallowed hard, realizing that her carefully constructed house of cards was rapidly collapsing around her.
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“You will never find it, Julian,” she hissed, her true, ugly nature finally breaking through the elegant facade.
“And I assure you, I did not act alone.”
