Chapter 9 - The Poisoned Pen
Dawn broke over the grey ocean as Christian and Elena set up their command center in the cabin. Armed with satellite laptops, Christian bypassed firewalls with terrifying ease. Elena sat beside him, cross-referencing her father’s private ledgers with the corporate transfers Richard had initiated over the past year.
""Look at this,"" Elena pointed to a recurring offshore wire. ""Every month, fifty thousand dollars from our logistics subsidiary was funneled to an entity called 'Larkspur Holdings.' I thought it was a shipping insurer.""
Christian brought up the registry for Larkspur. A sneer touched his lips. ""Registered owner: Victoria Adams. Your loyal maid of honor.""
The betrayal stung, but Elena forced the emotion down, transforming it into cold resolve. ""She didn't just want Richard. She was bleeding my company dry before I even knew it was sick.""
""Greed makes people sloppy,"" Christian murmured. He tapped a few keys, bringing up live security footage from an underground parking garage in the city center. ""Victoria is scheduled to meet Richard at ten o'clock to finalize the fake audit report. They think you are dead or in hiding.""
Christian pushed a secure radio forward. ""We have twenty minutes before they leave the garage. If we seize her phone and her records now, we have the evidence to prove fraud before Marcus can bribe the magistrate.""
""Let me go with you,"" Elena demanded, rising to her feet.
May you like
Christian looked at her, his eyes assessing her fierce stance. He didn't tell her to stay safe; he didn't coddle her. He simply pulled a small, concealed pistol from his waist and handed it to her.
""Take the safety off only when you intend to fire,"" he instructed. ""Let’s go confront your bridesmaid.""
