Chapter 45 - The Falcon at Eagle Basin
"He made you the sole signature," Miller said, staring at the luminous green screen of the decrypted tablet. "That's why Claire tried to choke the life out of you in that bedroom. She thought you had already discovered it. Arthur knew Eleanor was too unstable to handle the asset liquidation, so he structured the entire ninety million under your sovereign legal identity. If you die without signing, the funds default back to the United States Treasury."
"He didn't do it out of love," I spat, closing the book with a heavy snap. "He did it to turn me into a human shield. As long as I was alive, Eleanor and Claire couldn't touch the principal without coming through me."
A satellite chirp cut through the drone of the rain. The tablet was receiving an incoming encrypted video link.
Miller signaled me to accept. I touched the screen.
May you like
The image resolved instantly. A private hangar, bright white under halogen lights, smelling of aviation fuel. Arthur Holloway sat behind an executive teak desk, an espresso cup resting near his hand, perfectly poised. Behind him, Claire stood by the window, watching a private jet refuel on the tarmac.
"Hello, June," my father said, his voice as smooth and cold as polished marble. "I see you finally dismantled the hearth."
