Chapter 14 - The Traitor’s Ledger
The next afternoon, back at the Institute, my office phone rang with a frantic pulse. It was one of the few remaining loyalists stationed at the Pascale estate’s communications hub.
“Dr. Fitzgerald, you need to look at the encrypted server logs we seized from Viktor’s quarters,” the panicked voice of young guard named Leo crackled through the speaker. “We found a secondary financial route. It wasn't just Chicago. Someone else inside Boston funded the entire coup.”
My blood ran cold. “Who?”
“We’re trying to decrypt the final files now, but the firewall is tied to a biometric safety switch. It requires your credentials and Massimo’s simultaneous authorization.”
Twenty minutes later, I was back in the mansion’s private study, standing beside Massimo as our credentials flashed green across the glowing computer terminal. The hidden file downloaded slowly, a single PDF opening on the screen.
My breath hitched.
The name at the top of the financial transfer wasn’t a rival mob boss. It wasn’t a corrupt politician.
It was Julian Vance—Massimo’s own legal counsel, the man who had drafted the Pascale family charter and represented him in federal court for over a decade.
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Massimo stared at the screen, absolute, chilling silence descending upon the room. The betrayal wasn't just external; the snake was curled right inside the inner sanctum of the family’s legal defense.
“Julian,” Massimo whispered, his voice dangerously, unnaturally soft. “He drafted my will.”
