Chapter 14 - THE DIGITAL SNARE
I stared down at the flash drive resting on the dusty mahogany desk. The pieces of the puzzle were finally clicking into place, forming a terrifying, expansive picture that stretched far beyond our family home in America.
"If Julian is locked up in a federal penitentiary back in the States, how is he executing a corporate takeover from a jail cell?" I asked, looking up at Evelyn.
A grim smile touched the old woman's lips. "Because Julian isn't the head of the syndicate. He was just the local face, the greedy attack dog. The real mastermind is sitting right here in the UK, orchestrating a hostile proxy takeover of your overseas holding accounts this very second."
My blood ran cold. My phone was resting in my coat pocket. If they had access to my remote corporate dashboard...
Before I could reach for it, my cell phone began to vibrate violently. I pulled it out. The screen flashed an urgent security alert from Marcus: CRITICAL WARNING: Unauthorized multi-million-dollar wire transfer initiated from primary trust to an unknown offshore account in Zurich. Two-factor auth bypassed. Call me immediately!
"Too late," a chilling, familiar voice echoed from the shadows of the library doorway.
I spun around. Standing in the entrance, casually leaning against the doorframe with a smoking cigarette in his hand, was a man I thought was locked behind three layers of maximum-security glass.
It was Julian Vance.
His federal orange jumpsuit was gone, replaced by a sleek charcoal turtleneck. His face bore a smug, triumphant grin that made my stomach churn.
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"Julian?" I gasped, taking a step back. "How are you—you were transferred to a federal penitentiary! You were facing twelve years!"
"Money talks, little sister," Julian laughed, taking a slow drag from his cigarette. "Federal guards have prices. Extradition loopholes are wide if you know the right international syndicates. Did you really think a domestic cage could hold a Vance?"
