Chapter 16 - THE GHOST FROM THE PASTThree months passed in absolute, uninterrupted peace for Mara and her son. The media storm surrounding the collapse of Vale Holdings had faded from the daily headlines, replaced by stories of the newly formed Vale-Harrison Foundation and its groundbreaking philanthropic contributions.
One rainy afternoon, as Mara sat in her executive office reviewing architectural blueprints for a new maternal care center, her private secretary buzzed through the intercom.
"Mrs. Vale? There’s a visitor downstairs in the lobby insisting on speaking with you directly. He claims he has critical information regarding Roman Vale’s final hidden asset."
Mara’s pen paused over the blueprint. Her instincts, sharp and finely tuned, immediately flared. "Did he give a name?"
"He calls himself Julian Cross," the secretary replied cautiously. "He says he was Roman’s former private offshore banking broker in Zurich—the one who managed the accounts that federal investigators somehow missed."
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A cold stillness settled over the room. Mara stared at the intercom speaker for a long moment. If there was a hidden ledger, a final untraced account that Roman could use from prison to launch a desperate retaliation or fund a legal loophole, she needed to cut it off at the root.
"Send him up to Conference Room B," Mara instructed calmly. "And have two security officers stationed outside the glass partition."
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