Chapter 8 - The Shadow InvestorThe public humiliation at the gala only accelerated Brendan’s desperation. But to crush him completely, I needed to cut off his funding.
Late the next night, I was in my home office at the estate. The house was quiet; Ava was asleep upstairs. Marcus walked into the room, holding a thick, encrypted digital tablet.
“I found him,” Marcus said, dropping the tablet onto my desk.
I leaned forward. “Who is paying Brendan’s legal fees?”
“A man named Victor Sterling. The older brother of the lawyer Brendan hired,” Marcus explained, tapping the screen to bring up a web of shell corporations. “Victor runs a predatory private equity firm. Two years ago, when you activated Protocol Seven and liquidated the Brennan assets, Victor lost over forty million dollars in a joint real estate venture with Henry Brennan.”
“It’s a vendetta,” I realized, the pieces snapping together perfectly. “Victor isn't funding Brendan out of charity. He’s using Brendan’s custody lawsuit to distract me, force a massive settlement, and recoup his lost forty million.”
“Exactly,” Marcus nodded, his dark eyes intense. “Victor is arrogant. He thinks because you’re a woman, you won't trace the offshore accounts. He’s been funneling the money to Brendan through a fake charitable trust registered in Delaware.”
I stared at the screen. A cold, dangerous smile spread across my lips.
“Victor Sterling wants to play in the mud,” I whispered. “Then we are going to bury him in it.”
“What’s the play?” Marcus asked, leaning against my desk.
“Victor’s private equity firm is currently trying to secure a billion-dollar merger with a European tech conglomerate,” I said, my mind working at lightning speed. “If the Europeans find out that Victor is actively funding a fraudulent custody lawsuit using money laundered through a fake charity, they will pull out of the merger immediately.”
“We leak the documents to the press?”
“No. The press is too slow,” I corrected. “We leak the documents directly to the European board of directors. But we don't just stop there. I want to buy the debt of Victor’s primary holding company. I want to own him.”
Marcus looked at me, a profound, awestruck respect in his eyes. He had watched me transform from a silent, abused wife into an undisputed matriarch.
“You’re going to bankrupt him,” Marcus murmured.
“I’m going to make sure that anyone who ever thinks about using my daughter as leverage understands that I will end their bloodline,” I stated.
Marcus didn't hesitate. He pulled out his phone. “I’ll get the financial team on it tonight.”
As he turned to leave, I called his name. “Marcus.”
He stopped, looking back at me.
May you like
“Thank you. For always staying.”
His expression softened, shedding the hardened shell of the security chief. “I will always stay, Elise. You never have to doubt that.”
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