Chapter 3 - The Money Trail
The next morning, the sun rose over a city that had no idea of the war happening inside Sterling Tower.
Caroline had not slept a single minute.
She sat surrounded by stacks of financial records, server logs, and background checks.
Her private investigator, a former FBI agent named Marcus, sat across from her.
"Your mother was right," Marcus said, tossing a thick folder onto the desk.
"David Vance was born to a woman your father had an affair with thirty-seven years ago."
Caroline stared at the birth certificate, feeling sick to her stomach.
"My father bought his silence," she realized, reading the bank transfers.
"Yes," Marcus nodded. "But when your father died, the payments stopped."
"David wanted his inheritance, but he had no legal claim. So he targeted your sister."
Caroline rubbed her temples, the headache pounding behind her eyes.
"Amanda was always greedy," Caroline muttered.
"She wanted the family estate, and David wanted my company."
Marcus pulled up a complex diagram on his tablet.
"They used your mother’s estate as collateral to set up an offshore shell company," he explained.
"David, as your CFO, was slowly funneling your company's emergency reserves into this shell account."
Caroline gasped. "The forgery from the lobby. The stock transfer."
"Exactly," Marcus said grimly.
"They were going to use your stolen shares to vote you out as CEO at today's board meeting."
Caroline looked at the clock on the wall.
The emergency board meeting was scheduled for exactly two hours from now.
David and Amanda were still locked in the conference room downstairs, sleeping on the floor.
"Let them out," Caroline said, a dark, dangerous smile spreading across her face.
Marcus looked surprised. "Are you sure? They belong in handcuffs."
"They will be," Caroline replied, standing up and smoothing her blazer.
"But first, I want them to think they've won."
May you like
She wanted them to walk into the boardroom feeling victorious.
Because the higher they flew, the harder they would crash.
