Chapter 23 - The Return to the City
The drive back to Ohio was quiet, the stark contrast between our peaceful sanctuary and the concrete jungle of Columbus hitting us the moment we crossed the state line. We hadn’t told anyone we were coming. No notifications to Jessica, no calls to my other son, David, who was still too deeply entangled in the high-society world of corporate ambition to understand what we were doing.
We checked into a modest hotel on the outskirts of the city—far enough from the downtown gaze to remain invisible, but close enough to strike.
The next morning, Kevin and I walked into the offices of *Holloway & Associates*, a rival litigation firm known for taking down corrupt corporate empires. The senior partner, Arthur Holloway—a silver-haired man with sharp eyes and a reputation as a courtroom bulldog—welcomed us into his high-floor corner office overlooking the frozen Scioto River.
"So," Holloway said, steepling his fingers as he reviewed the documents Kevin had laid out on his mahogany desk. "You’re telling me that Sterling & Vance has been systematically burying a forty-million-dollar inheritance to enrich its senior partners, while fraudulently declaring the rightful heir 'missing and presumed destitute'?"
"That’s exactly what I'm telling you," Kevin said, leaning forward. "I worked there for six years, Mr. Holloway. I know how they operate. They have offshore accounts holding shell company shares designed to absorb assets right as probate closes."
Holloway looked at me, studying my face with quiet respect. He had read the preliminary trust files; he knew I was the woman who had walked away from a multi-million-dollar suburban home with nothing but a checkbook and a backbone.
"Mrs. Vance," Holloway said slowly, a grin breaking through his stern facade. "Arthur Vance was a lunatic, but he wrote ironclad wills. If this clause is valid—and my team has already verified the state registry—you aren't just an heir. You are the sole voting trustee of the entire commercial block. Which means... you have the legal right to audit Sterling & Vance’s handling of the estate."
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"I don't just want an audit," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet office like glass. "I want a complete forensic investigation into every single transaction Marcus Sterling has touched in the last five years."
***
