CHAPTER 6 — The Mastermind Behind Julian
Julian had confessed enough to bury himself.
Or so everyone believed.
Then the courtroom doors opened again.
A federal marshal hurried toward the prosecutor.
He whispered something.
The prosecutor's expression changed instantly.
Judge Whitmore frowned.
"What is it?"
The prosecutor slowly stood.
"Your Honor..."
"We've just arrested another suspect."
Julian looked confused.
"What?"
The prosecutor turned toward him.
"The person who ordered you to do all of this."
Julian's eyes widened in terror.
"No..."
"No, you can't bring him here."
Everyone noticed something shocking.
For the first time...
Julian wasn't acting like the predator.
He looked like prey.
The courtroom doors opened.
A tall silver-haired man entered wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
Chains rattled with every step.
Iris stopped breathing.
She recognized him immediately.
Dr. Victor Lang.
Her father's oldest business partner.
The man who had attended her wedding.
The man who had hugged her after Richard Ashcroft's funeral.
The man she had called "Uncle Victor."
Victor smiled calmly.
"Iris."
"I'm sorry we had to meet like this."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You..."
"You were family."
Victor nodded.
"I was."
"Until your father refused to sell me his research."
The courtroom listened in stunned silence.
Victor continued as though discussing the weather.
"So I found someone far more ambitious."
He looked directly at Julian.
"He wanted money."
"I wanted power."
"So we made a deal."
Julian shouted,
"You promised nobody would ever find out!"
Victor laughed.
"And you believed me?"
Federal agents placed dozens of newly seized documents onto the evidence table.
Secret offshore accounts.
Encrypted contracts.
Payments stretching back nearly fifteen years.
The conspiracy was far larger than anyone had imagined.
Judge Whitmore slowly removed her glasses.
"In thirty-two years on this bench..."
"I have never seen criminal corruption on this scale."
Victor smiled one final time.
"You still haven't seen everything."
The room fell silent.
He looked directly at Iris.
"There is one secret your father took to his grave..."
"And when you learn it..."
"You'll wish Julian had only wanted your company."
Iris felt her heart stop.
Because Victor wasn't lying.
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The darkest secret of the Ashcroft family had never been revealed.
And it was about to change everything.
