Chapter 19 - THE SHADOW IN THE SWISS ACCOUNT
I stared at the glowing screen of my phone, the shimmering London skyline outside the window suddenly blurring into a chaotic wash of neon lights.
The name on the Swiss wire transfer wasn't Ethan. It wasn't Vanessa, nor was it any of the Caldwell associates currently rotting in federal custody.
It was *Richard Vance*—no relation to my divorce attorney, but rather my late father's former business partner, a man who had mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth six years ago, right after my father's suspicious "accidental" drowning and the sudden bankruptcy of our family's original tech startup.
For years, Ethan had convinced me that my father was a reckless fool who had gambled away our family fortune before committing suicide. But seeing Richard's signature on a secret Swiss account—funding the legal defense of the very woman who had tormented me—retrospectively rewrote every single piece of my past.
My father hadn't lost our company. He hadn't committed suicide. He had been murdered, or forced out through corporate sabotage by the exact same syndicate that Ethan and Beatrice had tried to sell Project Aegis to.
"Evelyn?"
Marcus’s voice broke through my thoughts. He stepped into the alcove, his expression instantly shifting from relaxed to hyper-vigilant when he saw the pale, rigid set of my jaw. "What is it? Did something happen with the New York legal team?"
I slowly turned the phone around, holding the screen up for him to see.
Marcus leaned in, his eyes scanning the document. As his gaze hit the name *Richard Vance*, his professional composure cracked, replaced by a sudden, dangerous intensity. "Richard Vance? I thought he died in a boating accident off the coast of Monaco back in 2018."
"So did I," I whispered, my voice trembling with a mixture of shock and long-dormant rage. "Or at least, that's what Ethan told me when we first got married. He was the one who introduced me to Richard's portfolio management firm. He acted like he was just a helpful family friend."
Marcus’s jaw tightened. "If Richard Vance is still alive, and he’s secretly funding Beatrice's legal team... that means the attempt to steal Project Aegis wasn't just a desperate grab by a failing family. It was part of a ten-year conspiracy. They didn't just want my company—they wanted to finish what they started when your father died."
"They picked the wrong person to mess with twice," I said, the cold terror in my chest instantly crystallizing into a fierce, blinding focus.
"What do you want to do?" Marcus asked, his hand resting reassuringly on the grip of his jacket, ready for whatever command I gave.
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"Cancel my return flight to New York," I said, my eyes locking onto his with absolute, terrifying clarity. "We're not going back to fight a couple of petty criminals in federal court anymore. We're going to hunt down the master."
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