Chapter 4 - The Ghost from the Past
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush bone.
Gregory slumped forward in the armchair, his forehead resting against his knees. ""I didn't know about your brother,"" he muttered, his voice muffled by the upholstery. ""Dad handled the books. I just... I just signed where he told me to sign. He said if I didn't marry you and get you to sign the liability waiver, the SEC would trace the shortfall back to my personal accounts.""
""Your father used you, Gregory,"" I said, looking down at him with a mixture of pity and contempt. ""Just like he used your mother. Just like he uses everyone who gets in the way of his legacy.""
On the phone, Arthur Sterling’s breath hitched. The aristocratic facade had completely disintegrated.
""You think you've won,"" Arthur hissed, his voice trembling with venom. ""You think a few old diary pages and some disgruntled ex-military friends are going to bring down Sterling Maritime? The federal prosecutors in this district have been in my pocket for a decade. When they walk through those doors at eight o'clock, they won't be arresting me—they'll be arresting you for kidnapping and extortion.""
Before I could answer, the encrypted tablet on the coffee table beeped sharply.
Vance glanced down at the screen, his eyebrows raising in professional appreciation. ""Captain, we just received the data dump from the encrypted server raid our advance team executed at Sterling headquarters ten minutes ago.""
""Talk to me, Gunny,"" I said.
""We didn't just find tax fraud,"" Vance said, tapping the screen. ""We found the wire transfer receipts from twenty-five years ago. Half a million dollars paid to the attending physician who signed Eleanor Sterling's psychiatric commitment papers. And..."" Vance paused, looking up at me. ""We found the flight logs for Arthur's private jet tonight. He isn't waiting for the investigators at eight. He's already heading to the private airfield in Renton to catch a flight to Zurich.""
I looked at the phone on the nightstand.
""Leaving so soon, Mr. Sterling?"" I asked. ""And here I thought you wanted to meet the federal investigators.""
May you like
The line clicked. He hung up.
""Gunny,"" I ordered, spinning on my heel. ""Lock down the hotel exits. Nobody leaves. Vance, get our transport unit ready. We're going to the airfield.""
