Chapter 13 - The Phantom Investor
Security sirens wailed instantly across the estate as automated floodlights bathed the entire perimeter in blinding illumination. Within seconds, my private security detail emerged from the tactical quarters, their weapons drawn, returning disciplined suppression fire toward the fleeing black sedan.
The car squealed around the coastal bend and vanished into the foggy night.
Inside the reinforced panic room of the estate, Sophie was resting safely under the care of her nanny, completely unaware of the gunfire outside. I stood in my private study with Clara, who was still shaking uncontrollably, wrapped in a woolen blanket with a cup of hot tea in her hands.
“Now,” I said, pulling up a chair directly in front of her. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about this overseas investor. No omissions, no lies.”
Clara took a shaky sip of tea. “His name is Julian Vance—your estranged cousin from your father’s side who moved to Zurich ten years ago. He was legally disowned long before Victor, but he amassed a massive fortune in offshore black-market holdings. He was the one financing Amanda’s lavish lifestyle and Marcus’s legal fees.”
The puzzle pieces finally snapped together. It wasn't just a local conspiracy; it was a generational vendetta. Julian wanted total control over our family’s entire global tech footprint, and he had used Amanda as a pawn to slip inside our inner circle.
“If Julian funded them, he knows our financial defenses are stronger than ever,” I mused aloud, pacing across the hardwood floor. “Which means his next move won't be legal. It will be physical or digital sabotage.”
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“No, Ethan,” Clara looked up, her eyes wide with dread. “Julian doesn't want to steal the company anymore. Now that Marcus and Amanda are in prison, he wants to destroy your reputation completely. He’s releasing a massive coordinated media smear campaign tomorrow morning—fake documents claiming you were the mastermind behind the fraud, framing Amanda as the victim.”
I checked my watch. It was 2:00 AM. We had less than six hours before the digital smear hit the global news wires.
