Chapter 5 - The Hidden Archives
Victor stood up immediately, walking over to Marcus as the security chief placed the laptop on the small bedside table.
"What did you find?" Victor demanded, leaning over the screen.
"It’s not just the nanny-cam footage from the nursery," Marcus said, tapping a series of keys to pull up a folder marked MASTER_BACKUP_CORRUPTED_LOGS. "We ran facial recognition and metadata analysis on the files Serena attempted to scrub from the system this afternoon. Look at this clip dated eight months ago—two months before you and Serena announced your engagement."
Marcus hit play on a high-definition video file.
The screen displayed the master study of the Blackwood estate. In the video, a younger-looking Serena Vance was pacing near the bookshelf, speaking in a harsh, hurried whisper into a burner phone.
“Yes, Dad, the positioning is secure,” Serena’s voice echoed from the laptop speakers. “Victor is completely buying the philanthropist act. Once the engagement is locked in, we can start transferring the offshore subsidiary assets into our private shell accounts before the annual board audit. We just need to make sure the boy doesn't inherit a single cent of the primary trust.”
Victor stared at the screen, his mind violently processing the revelation. It wasn't just a domestic abuse case. It wasn't just a cruel, sociopathic fiancée lashing out in frustration.
It was a calculated, long-term corporate heist.
"She’s not an heiress to Vance Logistics," Victor said, the pieces of the puzzle violently snapping into place. "Vance Logistics went bankrupt during the municipal transit scandal six months ago—the exact scandal exposed by that whistleblower in the Hawthorne case."
"Precisely," Marcus nodded grimly. "Serena’s real last name isn't Vance. Her father is Arthur Vance—the disgraced former CEO currently awaiting federal trial for financial fraud and embezzlement. When their family empire collapsed, they needed a lifeline. They needed access to the Blackwood shipping reserves. And the easiest way to control me was to infiltrate my home, eliminate any legitimate heirs, and legally tie up my estate through marriage."
Lily gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she listened to the horrifying realization. "She was going to kill Ethan... wasn't she?"
"Not just kill him," Victor said, his voice dead cold, stripped of all human emotion. "She was going to make his death look like an tragic accident resulting from parental negligence—paving the way for her to take absolute control of the primary trust as his grieving stepmother."
Victor slowly straightened up. He looked down at his sleeping son, then turned his gaze back to Marcus.
"Where is she right now?" Victor asked quietly.
May you like
"Thomas has her locked in the master study under guard," Marcus replied. "The local police have been briefed, and federal marshals are standing by for the warrant."
Victor buttoned his suit jacket, his jaw set like iron. "Cancel the marshals for right now. I’m going back to the estate. It’s time to settle accounts."
