Chapter 5 - Vanishing Assets
Liam stared at the glowing phone screen, unable to process the numbers blinking before him. The transaction had cleared less than ten minutes ago, right as the chaos began in the ballroom. A wire transfer initiated from an offshore IP address, authenticated using his private executive credentials. Credentials that were only kept in one place: the encrypted safe in his home study, a combination he had shared with Vanessa only two days before the wedding.
""Liam? What is it?"" Clara asked, noticing the color completely draining from his face. She shifted Maisie, who had finally fallen asleep against her neck from sheer emotional exhaustion.
""The business accounts,"" Liam muttered, his voice hollow. ""All of them. The payroll reserves, the client retainers, the expansion funds... they're gone. Wiped clean."" He looked up at Clara, feeling the ground beneath his feet collapse entirely. ""She didn't just want to control Maisie. She was setting up an exit strategy. This whole wedding was a cover to access the family estate trust.""
Clara cursed under her breath. ""Her father’s firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, Liam. It was hushed up, but the rumors in financial circles were everywhere. Vanessa was using your fortune to bail out the Vance empire. When she realized I had the nanny-cam footage and was going to expose her, she executed the transfer before you could cut her off.""
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""I need to call the bank manager. I need to freeze the accounts before the wire clears through the foreign exchange,"" Liam said frantically, tapping his screen. But before he could place the call, his phone rang in his palm. The caller ID displayed an unlisted number. He answered and put it on speaker.
""Mr. Mitchell,"" a smooth, unfamiliar male voice purred through the speaker. ""Congratulations on your nuptials. We have received the transfer from your accounts as settlement for the Vance family debt. However, there is a remaining balance of two million dollars. If it is not settled by midnight tomorrow, we won't be sending legal notices. We will be coming for what you love most.""
