Chapter 18 - The Boardroom at Midnight
The warning from my father lingered in the back of my mind throughout the performance, souring the taste of the champagne. When the gala concluded at midnight, I declined Julian’s offer to join him for a nightcap at the Carlyle.
"Business?" Julian asked as he walked me to my car outside Lincoln Center, the cold December wind whipping around the marble plaza.
"Family business," I answered, offering him an apologetic smile. "My father looked shaken tonight. I need to review some legacy trust filings before the London markets open tomorrow."
Julian studied my face for a moment, his gray eyes searching. "If you need resources, Claire—if someone is moving against you from the shadows—you don't have to fight them alone."
"I know," I said, feeling a rare moment of genuine vulnerability. "Thank you, Julian."
I leaned up and placed a brief, gentle kiss on his cheek before sliding into the rear of the Lincoln.
Thirty minutes later, the elevator doors opened directly into the private executive suite of Vance Capital. The lights were dimmed to night-mode, casting long, geometric shadows across the polished white marble floors.
Elise was already there, sitting at the massive conference table surrounded by three open laptops and reams of freshly printed financial ledgers. She had traded her evening gown for a dark sweater, her glasses perched on her nose.
"You found it?" I asked, dropping my evening bag onto the table and unfastening my velvet coat.
"I found the transfer route," Elise said, her voice tight with exhaustion and shock. "It took our forensic accountants four hours to crack the multi-signature protocol Sophie provided."
I pulled up a chair beside her, leaning over the screen. "Show me the money trail."
"Sophie was telling the truth," Elise said, pointing to a glowing flowchart on her monitor. "Victor Cross was just a consultant. The twenty-five million dollars that funded Adrien's hostile play didn't come from Switzerland. It originated from an escrow account at J.P. Morgan Private Bank right here in Manhattan."
"Under what corporate entity?"
"An entity named *Aegis Holdings LLC*," Elise answered. "Registered twelve years ago. It’s an internal investment vehicle designed to hedge against municipal harbor projects."
I stared at the name. *Aegis Holdings.*
A cold, sick dread began to pool at the base of my stomach. "Aegis isn't a hedge fund, Elise."
"I know," Elise whispered, her eyes wide with uncharacteristic fear. "Claire... Aegis is an internal subsidiary of Thorne International."
The silence that fell over the boardroom was deafening.
The glass towers outside seemed to tilt. The blood rushed to my ears, hot and deafening.
Julian Thorne.
Julian hadn't just predicted Adrien’s attack. He hadn't just laid a trap to seize Blackwood Manor. *He had funded Adrien’s war from the very beginning.* He had handed Adrien the weapon, calculated the exact trajectory of the bullet, and positioned himself as my savior so he could walk directly into the heart of Hudson Harbor.
"Print every wire confirmation," I ordered, my voice dangerously calm, devoid of all color, the steel returning to my spine with lethal intensity. "Lock down the server. Revoke all external guest passes for Thorne International's legal team immediately."
"Claire," Elise said, her voice trembling. "Julian holds fifty percent of the Garrison logistics terminal. If he turns on us, he controls our entire northern shipping route."
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"He doesn't control me," I said, standing up, my fingers tightening into fists so hard my nails bit into my palms. "He thought Adrien was his pawn? He’s about to find out what happens when you try to play a Vance."
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