Chapter 4 - The 3:00 AM Stakeout
The Azure Crest Resort looked entirely different in the dead of night. The sparkling string lights and crystal chandeliers had been switched off, leaving the grand marble lobby cast in eerie, bluish shadows from the ocean storm outside.
Using a master electronic key card provided by a very sympathetic night manager—who happened to be an aviation safety mechanic whose license I had successfully defended three years prior—Vesper and I rolled silently through the deserted corridors straight toward the private executive boardroom adjacent to the main ballroom.
Through the frosted glass doors, we could see warm light flickering.
Voices leaked out into the hallway, raised in angry, panicked shouting.
“What do you mean he’s refusing to answer his phone?!” Althia’s voice shrieked, frantic and desperate. “The wedding starts in six hours! Three hundred guests are already checked into the east wing, and the catering deposit alone cost more than our entire house in Scottsdale!”
“Alistair packed his bags at midnight, Althia! He checked out of the penthouse, boarded a private charter flight to Zurich, and left his phone sitting on the concierge desk!” Stellin shouted back, the sound of glass shattering against a wall following his words. “And worse—the federal compliance notification just hit my email. Our corporate proxy account has been flagged for unauthorized asset transfer using Fallon’s federal tax ID number!”
“Well, pin it on Fallon!” Althia screamed hysterically. “Tell the investigators she’s mentally unstable, that she forged the documents herself while hopped up on painkillers from her cargo accident! Who is going to believe a cripple in a wheelchair over two respected pillars of the community?!”
I didn't wait for Vesper to open the door.
I gripped the self-propelling wheels of my medical wheelchair, shoved the heavy mahogany double doors wide open, and rolled straight into the center of the boardroom.
The heavy oak conference table was littered with empty champagne bottles, torn financial statements, and sparkling wedding invitations embossed with gold leaf. Althia stood frozen by the window, her hair wild and her expensive silk blouse stained with wine. Stellin sat at the head of the table, his face turning the color of curdled milk as he stared at me as if I were a ghost risen from the grave.
“Good morning, Mother. Good evening, Dad,” I said, my voice echoing off the vaulted ceilings with crystal-clear authority. “I must say, embezzlement looks exhausting on you both.”
Althia staggered forward, her eyes wild with furious desperation. “You—you ungrateful, miserable little bitch! How dare you sneak in here looking like a hospital casualty? Security! Remove this pathetic cripple before I have her thrown off the property!”
“There is no security coming, Althia,” a calm, deep voice echoed from the doorway.
Step by step, a tall, imposing figure walked into the boardroom from the shadows of the hallway. He wore an impeccably tailored Brioni suit, his silver hair neatly combed, and his sharp, hawkish eyes locked directly onto Stellin Scott.
It wasn't Alistair.
It was Arthur Vance—Alistair’s father, chairman and CEO of Vance Global Holdings, and the primary underwriter of Aster Vale Capital.
Stellin’s knees buckled. He grabbed the edge of the mahogany table to keep from collapsing onto the floor. “Mr... Mr. Vance... what... what are you doing here?”
Arthur Vance didn't even look at Stellin. He walked straight over to my wheelchair, pulled out a leather portfolio, and placed it gently on my lap.
“Miss Scott,” Arthur said, his voice deep and resonant with chilling politeness. “My son Alistair sent me the 4K video recording of your sister’s charming little staircase stunt approximately twenty minutes after he walked out of this resort. He also forwarded the forensic audit report compiled by your associate, Ms. Sterling, regarding the systematic looting of my family trust via your corporate tax ID.”
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Arthur turned his piercing gaze toward Althia and Stellin.
“To answer your question, Mr. Scott: I am here because my legal team has just filed federal wire fraud, identity theft, and grand larceny charges against you both with the United States District Attorney's office. And as for the wedding...” Arthur smiled coldly. “...consider it permanently canceled.”
