Chapter 11 - The Trust File
"What do you mean it's coded into the trust?" Victor asked, pacing the narrow basement corridor. "I signed those documents with our family attorneys three years ago. It’s standard estate planning."
"Sarah changed the annexes forty-eight hours before she died," Clara explained, sitting up and testing her bandaged arm with a wince. "She used an encrypted cryptographic hash embedded in the asset allocation annex. It contains bank accounts, shell company names, and customs bribe manifests spanning ten years. The access key isn't a password, Victor. It’s Julian’s biometric DNA profile."
Victor stopped pacing. The intricate web of deceit finally snapped into sharp focus. "That’s why Cross couldn't just kill him. He needed Julian alive long enough to provide a valid biometric sample to open the trust, sign over the executorship to Helena, and then eliminate him."
"Exactly," Marcus interjected, typing away at a ruggedized laptop on the workbench. "And right now, Cross is bleeding out on a private yacht heading toward Manhattan. But that's not our biggest problem."
Marcus turned the screen toward Victor. A local news broadcast was playing on a live feed.
On the screen was Victor’s face, alongside Clara’s mugshot. Beneath them, a bold red ticker flashed across the bottom: MANHUNT: BILLIONAIRE VICTOR STERLING WANTED FOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM AND CHILD ABDUCTION.
"Cross controls the state commissioner," Marcus muttered grimly. "They’ve spun the shootout at your mansion as an internal family massacre. They’re claiming you went insane, killed your fiancée, and took Julian hostage."
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Victor leaned over the table, staring at the broadcast. "Where is Helena?"
"She survived," Marcus replied grimly. "And she's currently giving a tearful press conference at Manhattan General Hospital."
