Chapter 8 - The Shadows Strike Back
Two months later.
Autumn had descended upon Ohio, painting the trees around Montgomery Manor in brilliant shades of amber, crimson, and deep orange.
The construction in Oakridge was moving at record speed. Arthur spent his mornings in the city managing his global firm, and his afternoons on-site in Oakridge, personally inspecting the foundations of the new shelter alongside Lily.
However, beneath the surface of their newfound peace, a dark remnant of the past was quietly festering.
Inside the high-security wing of the Franklin County Correctional Facility, Julian Montgomery sat at a cold steel table in a windowless visitation room.
He wore an orange prison jumpsuit, his hair shaggy and grey, his face thin and sunken. Across from him sat his lead defense attorney, a sleek, expensive lawyer named Victor Sterling.
"The bail motion was denied again, Julian," Sterling said, closing his leather briefcase with a sharp click. "The judge ruled you a extreme flight risk. The evidence from the car's telemetry and the wire transfers is rock solid. You're looking at twenty years for attempted murder."
Julian’s eyes burned with a wild, psychotic glare. "I don't care about the prison time, Victor. I care about Arthur. He's spending millions... my inheritance... on that filth town! On those street rats!"
"There's nothing you can do," Sterling replied coldly. "Arthur has restructured the entire corporate charter. The girls are his legal heirs now. If Arthur dies tomorrow, the entire fortune goes into an untouchable trust managed by a board of independent trustees for Lily and Emma."
Julian slammed his fist onto the metal table, making the guard near the door snap his head toward them.
"Then we don't kill Arthur," Julian whispered, leaning across the table, his breath foul and hot. "We make him suffer. We take away the only thing he cares about."
Sterling frowned, leaning back. "Julian... if you touch those kids, the Attorney General will put you in a maximum-security cage for the rest of your life."
"I'm already in a cage!" Julian hissed. "Listen to me closely, Victor. Vance’s old crew... the men who didn't get caught in the barn sweep. They're still out there. They're broke, desperate, and angry."
Julian pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his sock, sliding it across the metal table under his palm.
"That is the access code to an offshore account in Panama," Julian spat softly. "Five hundred thousand dollars in untraceable cryptocurrency. Tell them to execute the secondary plan at the Oakridge groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow."
May you like
Sterling stared at the paper, his mouth dry. "Julian... this is insane."
"If I can't have Montgomery Global," Julian whispered, a dark, terrifying smile spreading across his face, "then Arthur will watch his precious beggar girl burn in the same town he tried to save."
