Chapter 14 - Following the Money
With Evelyn back in federal custody under a no-bail hold, the spotlight turned directly onto Victor Montgomery. But Victor was far more dangerous than Evelyn. He didn't operate on emotional rage; he operated on cold, mathematical leverage.
That night, Marcus and I sat in a safehouse downtown, surrounded by high-resolution monitors displaying Victor’s complex web of shell companies.
"Look at this node right here," Marcus pointed a pen at a line graph detailing a financial funnel out of Zurich. "Victor wasn't just trying to help Evelyn get out of jail. He was using the family trust fund to cover a fifty-million-dollar shortfall in a secondary investment pool he manages for an Eastern European criminal syndicate."
My eyes narrowed. "He promised his investors fifty million dollars, using Lily's inheritance as the collateral?"
"Exactly," Marcus nodded. "If he doesn't deliver that money by Friday, his syndicate partners aren't going to sue him—they're going to terminate him. That's why he’s rushing. He’s desperate."
"Where is Julian in all of this?" I asked.
"Julian is sitting in state prison, completely forgotten," Marcus said, scrolling through jail logs. "Neither Victor nor Evelyn has paid a single dollar toward his legal defense. His court-appointed public defender just filed a motion to delay his arson trial."
A dark, dangerous realization blossomed in my mind. Julian was the weak link. He had spent his entire life begging for his mother's approval, only to be tossed aside like garbage the moment his uncle showed up with real power.
"I need to visit Julian," I said, standing up.
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"Claire, he tried to burn you alive in that mansion," Marcus warned.
"And now," I smiled grimly, "he's going to help me burn his uncle to the ground."
