Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Past
The Vance Estate sat atop the highest hill overlooking the city, a sprawling fortress of stone and glass shrouded in fog. For two years, Liam had avoided this place, choosing to live in a modest apartment down in the district to escape the cutthroat politics of his family. But tonight, the illusion of a normal life was shattered.
As they entered the grand study, a man in a tailored charcoal suit stood up from behind the mahogany desk. It was Julian, Liam’s trusted legal counsel and childhood friend.
"You’re late, Liam," Julian said, his face grave. "Marcus has already called the emergency board meeting for tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. He’s claiming your mother is mentally unfit and that you’ve abandoned your duties to the corporation."
"Let him claim whatever he wants," Liam said, tossing his coat onto a chair. "We have the evidence from the shell companies now."
"It’s not that simple," Julian warned, pulling up a tablet screen. "Look at this."
On the screen was a live news broadcast. The headline running across the bottom made Liam’s blood run cold:
"VANCE ENTERPRISES FOUNDER EVELYN VANCE DECLARED DECEASED IN ABSENTIA; MARCUS VANCE TO ASSUME FULL CONTROL."
"What?!" Liam snapped. "She’s standing right here!"
"Marcus filed forged medical documents from a clinic in Europe three hours ago," Julian explained. "He managed to bribe the high court judge to sign off on an emergency decree. As far as the law and the stock market are concerned right now, your mother is legally dead, and you are incapacitated. If you walk into that board meeting tomorrow without hard proof, Marcus’s security will have you arrested for trespassing."
Evelyn walked over to the fireplace, holding her hands out to the flames. She didn't look panicked. In fact, she looked almost amused.
"Marcus always was impatient," she murmured. "He thinks because he forced me into hiding two years ago, he has won. He forgets who built this empire from nothing."
She turned back to Liam, her gaze sharp. "Liam, do you know why I wore that ragged coat tonight? Why I stood on that freezing street corner?"
Liam frowned. "You said you wanted to test Chloe."
"That was only part of it," Evelyn said softly. "I was waiting for a contact. Someone inside Marcus’s inner circle who was supposed to drop off the original ledger. But he didn't show up."
Before Liam could process her words, the heavy double doors of the study burst open.
Four armed men in black tactical gear slammed into the room, their weapons raised. Behind them walked a young woman in a sharp red suit, her red lipstick contrasting starkly with her cold, calculating eyes.
Liam stared in disbelief.
"Victoria?"
Victoria—Liam’s senior executive assistant at his 'ordinary' tech job, the woman who had helped him organize his daily life for the past eighteen months—walked in with a smirk playing on her lips.
"Hello, Liam," Victoria said, stepping over the threshold. "Or should I say, Mr. Vance?"
May you like
"You..." Liam took a step forward, but the guards raised their rifles to his chest. "You were working for Marcus?"
"I was working for the highest bidder, sweetie," Victoria purred, pulling a silver flash drive from her pocket. "Your mother was waiting for her contact tonight, but unfortunately, her contact had a little... accident. And this little drive? It contains every scrap of proof you needed to clear your name."
