Chapter 13 - Vanessa’s Last Card
The peace didn't last long. At 4:00 PM, federal marshals escorted a disheveled visitor into the building’s secure reception area.
It was Vanessa.
She had been released from federal custody on a temporary witness-cooperation furlough, but her designer clothes were rumpled, her face pale, and her eyes wide with desperation. She bypassed the waiting area and practically threw herself against the glass doors of the executive suite.
My security guards moved to block her, but I raised a hand. “Let her in.”
Vanessa stumbled into the office, trembling as she clutched a thick, yellowed manila envelope against her chest.
“Claire... you have to listen to me,” Vanessa choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks. “The federal prosecutors lied to me. They’re still planning to push for a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence for my involvement in the medical record cover-up.”
“You helped David conceal a multi-billion-dollar fraud and obstruct a murder investigation,” I reminded her coldly, remaining seated behind my desk. “What did you expect a reward?”
“I have something that can prove David didn't act alone!” Vanessa shrieked, slamming the manila envelope onto my desk. “There was someone else. Someone higher up on the board who funded the original yacht explosion in Amalfi long before David ever stole Julian’s face!”
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Julian stepped forward, his eyes narrowing instantly. “What are you talking about?”
Vanessa fumbled open the envelope, spilling dozens of printed emails, wire transfer receipts, and signed board resolutions across the mahogany wood. “David didn’t have the capital to execute the Amalfi hit seven years ago! He was just a low-level accountant! Someone financed the remote detonator. Someone inside the Ashford Capital executive board hired him to kill Julian so they could take the company public!”
