Chapter 8 - Betrayal in the Family
""I really hoped you wouldn't get involved in this, Victoria,"" Julian said calmly, his voice smooth and untroubled despite the sterile concrete surroundings. He wore an expensive gray suit, looking more like an executive attending a board meeting than a man orchestrating a child's abduction. Victoria immediately stepped in front of Maya, shielding the girl completely with her body. The realization hit her with sickening clarity: the disappearance of Elena Rivera, the missing corporate funds, the smear campaign that preserved the company's public face—it had all originated from within the Vance family itself.
""You framed Elena,"" Victoria said, her voice dropping into an icy register of absolute disgust. ""She discovered what you were doing with the shipping manifests, didn't she? The human trafficking routes through our Mediterranean ports."" Julian smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying the accusation. ""Elena was an idealist who forgot who paid her salary. She tried to copy the ledger onto a secure drive before she vanished. And now, thanks to your ridiculous bout of charity at a public steakhouse, her little stray brought the missing ledger straight to my doorstep.""
Julian raised the barrel of the gun, leveling it directly at Victoria's forehead. ""Give me the chip, Victoria. I’ll make sure you keep your shares, your title, and your reputation. The girl will be placed somewhere far away where she won't bother anyone ever again."" Maya poked her head out from behind Victoria’s skirt, her small hand slipping into Victoria’s pocket and discreetly pressing the silver locket into the older woman's palm. ""She’s lying, Victoria,"" Maya whispered with chilling maturity. ""He killed my mother in front of me.""
