Chapter 5 - Shadows of the PastThe room grew eerily quiet as Marcus held up the silver watch. Richard’s heart hammered against his ribs.
"How did you get that?" Richard demanded, his voice cracking. "That vault is secured by biometric codes!"
"It was," Marcus said softly, his smile fading into something dark and dangerous. "Until your precious late business partner, Arthur Sterling, gave me the override code on his deathbed."
At the name Arthur Sterling, Richard felt as if the ground beneath him had opened up. Arthur had been his best friend, his original partner when they founded Vance & Sterling Logistics back in 1999. But Arthur had died in a tragic house fire two decades ago—a fire that Richard had barely survived.
"Arthur didn't have a son," Richard stammered, staring at Marcus's features—the sharp jawline, the piercing green eyes.
"No, he didn't," Marcus agreed. "He had a daughter. Who was pregnant when you locked him inside his office and set the building on fire to claim the entire company insurance and sole ownership!"
Shock waves rippled through the audience. Reporters began frantically recording every word.
"That's a lie!" Richard shouted, his face turning pale. "It was an electrical accident! The investigation proved it!"
"The investigation you paid two million dollars to sweep under the rug?" Marcus countered smoothly. He pulled a thick leather folder from inside his coat and tossed it onto the altar. "Here are the bank transfer records, Mr. Vance. Along with the wire details showing you paid Vanessa fifty thousand dollars three months ago to infiltrate your life, fake a pregnancy, and get you to sign a prenuptial agreement transferring thirty percent of your assets to her 'unborn child'—assets that would automatically roll over to my holding company."
Vanessa wept openly on the floor. "He forced me, Richard! He threatened my family!"
Richard looked down at the documents spilling across the altar. The paper trails, the forged medical reports, the offshore accounts—it was all there. His entire life’s work was built on a foundation that was now crumbling into ash.
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He turned to look at Emily. The little girl was watching him, not with anger, but with a deep, crushing sorrow.
"Daddy..." Emily whispered. "Did you do those bad things?"
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