Chapter 7 - THE GHOST IN THE ARCHIVE
While Ethan celebrated in Greenwich, Richard sat in the quiet library of his Manhattan penthouse, surrounded by three monitors displaying real-time financial tracking software.
Beside him stood Marcus Vance, reviewing a fresh stack of bank transfers flagged by an overseas correspondent.
"She moved fast, Richard," Marcus noted, pointing at a six-million-dollar wire initiated two hours prior. "Ethan just authorized the preliminary liquidity transfer to the Cayman shell. If the main merger funds hit that account on Friday, sixty percent of the family trust's liquid reserves will be laundered out of reach within minutes."
"Ethan is blind, Marcus," Richard said softly, looking out over the evening lights of Central Park. "He sees what he wants to see—a young, devoted wife who validates his ego, and a father who supposedly held him back."
"Victoria isn't helping," Marcus added. "She’s so focused on securing her COO title under the new structure that she’s signing off on Sophia's expedited filing requests without reading the fine print."
"Victoria is driven by ambition; Ethan is driven by pride," Richard replied, his voice firm and steady. "Sophia understood both of their weaknesses perfectly. That’s why she didn't need a gun or a forged contract to take this house—she just needed a few torn buttons and a son willing to strike his father."
Richard stood up, walking over to his desk safe. He unlocked it and pulled out an old, velvet-lined wooden box containing a set of encrypted silver drives.
"Is that the primary ledger from 2018?" Marcus asked.
"This is the complete history of S. Laurent Holdings," Richard revealed. "Sophia thinks she picked this family at random. She thinks she seduced Ethan because he was wealthy and vulnerable."
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"And she didn't?"
"Sophia's real maiden name is Sophia Vance," Richard said coldly. "She is the daughter of Julian Vance—my former business partner who tried to dismantle this firm eight years ago before he fled to Switzerland. She didn't come here for money, Marcus. She came to finish her father's war."
