Chapter 10 - Shadows of the Past
Within forty-eight hours of the arrests, the Vance financial empire was entirely dismantled. Their bank accounts were frozen by federal injunctions, their luxury properties seized as collateral, and their corporate headquarters placed under receivership by Sterling Global. Diego and his mother were denied bail due to flight risks and shifted to a maximum-security remand facility.
Yet, Victoria's final threat lingered like a phantom in the air.
In the penthouse office of the Sterling Tower, fifty stories above the city, Elena sat across from Arthur. A cup of chamomile tea sat cooling in front of her as she watched analysts track the liquidation of Vance assets on terminal monitors.
"Who is Marcus Vance?" Elena asked, breaking the silence. "Diego never spoke of him. Whenever Victoria mentioned him, it was only in hushed whispers."
Arthur leaned back in his leather chair, his fingers steepled. His expression was heavier than usual.
"Marcus is the eldest son of the Vance bloodline," Arthur explained quietly. "Unlike Diego, who was merely a spoiled, weak-willed bully, Marcus was born dangerous. Seven years ago, he ran the family's illicit smuggling routes through the South China Sea. When the federal authorities closed in, he didn't surrender; he faked his death, changed his identity, and disappeared into the underworld of private military contracting."
Elena felt a cold tremor run down her spine. "Is he still alive?"
"My intelligence network intercepted coded communications between Victoria’s private cell and a secure server in Zurich minutes before her arrest," Arthur replied, sliding a decrypted transcript across the glass desk. "She triggered an emergency contingency protocol. Marcus knows his family has been ruined. And he knows who pulled the trigger."
"Then he will come after us," Elena realized, looking down at her child.
"Let him come," Arthur said, reaching out to clasp her hand with an iron grip. "The Sterling family did not conquer this continent by playing defense. But for now, you need peace. Tomorrow, you take possession of the Vance estate."
"Why would I want that house?" Elena asked, recoiling slightly at the memory of the cold pool patio.
Arthur’s lips curled into a faint, deliberate smile. "Because destruction is only satisfying when you rebuild upon the ashes of your oppressor. You will raze it to the ground, Elena. And you will build a children's medical sanctuary in its place."
Elena looked at her father, feeling a profound sense of purpose replacing the scars of her past. "When do we start?"
"At noon," Arthur said.
May you like
However, far across the ocean, in a secluded compound hidden within the humid jungles of Southeast Asia, a rugged man with a scarred jaw threw a glass against a stone wall, watching a livestream of Diego being dragged in handcuffs.
"Prepare the team," Marcus Vance spoke into a satellite phone, his voice scraping like sandpaper. "We are going home to settle an account."
