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The beam of the heavy-duty headlamp cut through the blinding blizzard, illuminating the crimson streaks of blood frozen against the white snow. / Chapter 12 / 32

Chapter 12 - The Shadow PartnerBack in New York, Victoria Prescott sat at the head of the polished oak boardroom table. Flanked by her top corporate strategists, she listened intently as her chief financial officer delivered his report.

"The hostile takeover of Prescott Industries is complete, Ms. Prescott," the CFO stated, sliding a leather-bound binder across the table. "Every subsidiary has been absorbed into Sterling Holdings. But... there is an anomaly."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, her gaze sharp as flint. "What kind of anomaly?"

"Before Brandon went to prison, he transferred ten million dollars in hidden assets to an offshore shell company in the Cayman Islands," the CFO explained. "The account is controlled by a proxy. We traced the digital footprint, and it leads straight to an unexpected name: Marcus Vance."

Victoria’s breath caught. Marcus? The rescue specialist who had saved her life on the mountain?

"Are you certain?" she asked, her voice dropping to a dangerous chill.

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"The financial trail doesn't lie, ma'am," the CFO replied. "He’s been moving the funds just as Brandon was arrested. Shall I alert federal authorities?"

Victoria stared out the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Manhattan. A slow, terrifying realization began to form in her mind.

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Chapter 13 - The Confrontation at the ChaletThirty-six hours later, Victoria’s private jet touched down in Kalispell, Montana. She didn't head back to her main estate; instead, she drove straight to the isolated alpine chalet where Marcus Vance lived off the grid.
Chapter 14 - The True Mastermind"Explain yourself," Victoria demanded, her finger resting on the safety of her concealed weapon.
Chapter 15 - An Unholy AllianceVictoria stared at Marcus for a long, agonizing moment. Every instinct told her to trust no one—not after what Brandon had put her through. But as she looked at the financial data on the laptop screen, she saw the sheer genius of Marcus’s network.
Chapter 16 - The Silence of the CellDeep inside the maximum-security wing of a federal women's prison in New York, Gretchen Vance paced frantically inside her isolation cell. Her fingernails were bitten down to the quick, and dark circles stained her eyes.
Chapter 17 - The Eradication of Prescott IndustriesThree months later, the final blow was struck.
Chapter 18 - A Visitor in the DarkThe heavy security doors of the federal penitentiary in Florence hissed open, admitting a single visitor into the high-security consultation booth.

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