Chapter 3 - The Bloodline Ledger

Downstairs in the staff locker rooms, Elena stripped off the stained catering uniform, revealing a sleek, charcoal-grey tactical turtleneck beneath. She tossed the white fabric into a metal bin and pulled a leather dossier from her locker.

Inside were bank records, encrypted text messages, and notarized land titles—all bearing the signature of Arthur Vance, their late father.

A soft knock echoed at the metal door.

"Come in," Elena said without turning around.

The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man in a bespoke suit stepped inside. It was Marcus, the former chief legal counsel of Vance Global, who had been unceremoniously ousted by Victoria three years ago.

"They suspect nothing, Miss Elena," Marcus said, bowing slightly out of deep respect. "Julian took Victoria to the office. The board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow morning. All the evidence regarding Victoria's embezzlement of the charity funds is uploaded to the main server."

Elena closed the dossier. The leather cover clicked shut in the quiet room. "Good. Victoria thought she could buy and sell human dignity with a designer handbag. She forgot where the Vance fortune actually came from."

Ten years ago, Victoria and her mother had orchestrated a brutal corporate coup, framing Elena’s mother and driving them both out of the country with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They thought they had buried the bastard daughter in a shallow grave of obscurity.

They didn't know that Elena had spent the last decade training in the darkest corners of international security, intelligence, and corporate espionage. She hadn't come back to ask for a piece of the pie. She had come back to burn the bakery down.

"And Julian?" Elena asked, her voice softening just a fraction. "Does he know my full plan?"

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Marcus hesitated. "Mr. Julian wants to save the company, Miss Elena. But he also wants his sister destroyed. He’s letting you handle the execution."

Elena smiled, a cold, humorless expression. "Then let's give the family what they've been asking for."