Chapter 2 - The Doorway ShadowThe door swung open, revealing not Vanessa Cole, but Arthur Sterlingâmy late fatherâs former chief legal advisor and current senior member of the board.
Arthur stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and locking it with a sharp click. He carried a leather briefcase, his face pale and etched with severe concern.
âClaire,â Arthur said, his voice low and tight. âDid you just transmit the Sterling-Vance files to the Securities and Exchange Commission?â
âI sent them to the SEC, the Department of Justice, and every member of the executive board, Arthur,â I replied, stepping back from the vanity mirror, my voice steady as steel. âGrant had five minutes. He chose to laugh.â
Arthur let out a long, heavy exhale, setting his briefcase on the coffee table. âYou don't understand, child. Grant didn't forge those signatures alone. Vanessa Cole isn't just his mistressâsheâs the daughter of Marcus Cole, the offshore banker who helped your father build Sterling Enterprises thirty years ago!â
I froze, looking at Arthur as the pieces began aligning in my mind.
Vanessa hadn't slipped into my private medical recovery suite simply out of petty jealousy. She had come to retrieve the physical encryption key stored inside my motherâs locketâa locket I had worn around my neck before the sedation!
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I reached down to my neck.
The gold chain was cut. The locket was gone.
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