Chapter 6 - The Trap ClosesMonica overheard every word.
The color drained entirely from her face. She gripped the car door handle, her knuckles turning white. “Two million dollars...? David never told me... he said the business was just struggling...”
“David was too proud to tell his wife he was drowning,” Victor laughed softly, turning back to Douglas. “So, Doug? Are you going to write a check out of your corporate slush fund to bail out your sister, or are you going to let her lose the bookstore, her home, and her dignity?”
Victor turned on his heel, climbed back into his Mercedes, and sped away into the rain.
Douglas stood frozen for a fraction of a second, not from fear, but from a terrifying, lethal rage.
“Douglas... don't,” Monica whispered, tears welling in her eyes again. “Don't let him use us to destroy you. You can't just pay off two million dollars of predatory debt without wrecking your own liquidity.”
Douglas looked down at his sister, then at seven-year-old Nina, who looked up at him with big, trusting eyes that mirrored his sister’s face.
He pulled out his phone, unlocked the screen with a sharp movement, and speed-dialed his head of security, Marcus Cole.
May you like
“Marcus,” Douglas said, his voice dropping into a register of absolute ice. “Drop everything. I want a full forensic financial audit of Victor Sterling’s private accounts, his offshore holdings, and every single loan shark operation he’s fronting in the tri-state area. Find me his dirt by tomorrow morning.”
“You got it, Boss,” Marcus replied instantly. “Consider it done.”
