Chapter 12 - The Ghost of the PastTwo weeks later, an unexpected visitor arrived at the corporate reception desk.
Arthur Vance, the former senior managing partner who had helped Ethan forge the fraudulent asset transfers, was waiting in the lobby. He looked hollowed out—his expensive suits replaced by a frayed, off-the-rack jacket, his hair uncombed, and his hands trembling.
When security buzzed him up to my office, he didn't look me in the eye. He shuffled in, clutching a battered leather briefcase like a shield.
"Victoria," Arthur mumbled, his voice cracking. "I... I didn't know where else to go. The federal prosecutors seized my personal accounts. My home is in foreclosure. I'm ruined."
I stood up, walking slowly around my desk until I stood right in front of him.
"You chose your bed, Arthur," I said, my voice quiet but laced with absolute authority. "You sat in that boardroom and watched Ethan systematically dismantle my family's legacy. You signed your name to documents you knew were forged."
"I was pressured!" Arthur cried, his voice rising in desperation. "Ethan threatened to cut me out of the firm's equity distribution!"
"And I am threatening to let the federal judge throw the book at you," I countered, leaning in close. "Unless... you have something that makes you useful."
Arthur froze, blinking rapidly behind his fogged-up glasses. "What... what do you mean?"
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"Ethan had a secondary offshore portfolio. One he didn't trust even his mother with. He told you about it once, over drinks at the metropolitan club three years ago," I said, reciting details from an encrypted audio file recovered from Ethan's personal laptop. "Where is the physical key to the Swiss bearer shares, Arthur?"
Arthur's face paled completely. He realized then that I wasn't just guessing—I already knew everything.
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