Chapter 4 - The Spider’s Web
By midnight, I was sitting in a soundproof private room at the Drake Hotel with Marcus Vance, the forensic investigator, and Victoria Sterling, a high-stakes corporate attorney known in Chicago as the "Bloodhound."
On the glass table between us were three laptops, land registry files, and private banking transfers.
"It’s an extraordinary scheme," Victoria said, adjusting her designer glasses as she read through the financial logs Marcus had pulled. "Ethan Cole didn't just fake his death to avoid federal fraud charges, Claire. He used a forged power of attorney—executed three days before his supposed 'death'—to siphon four point two million dollars from your joint accounts directly into L.F. Horizon Trust."
"Which Vivian manages," Marcus added, tapping a red pen against a flowchart on his tablet. "Over the last sixty months, Vivian has transferred eighty thousand dollars a month directly to Vance Bio-Tech under the guise of 'consulting fees.' That money funded Ethan's lab, his luxury home in Wilmette, and Madeline Ross's private shopping accounts."
I stared at the screen showing Ethan's new life. A six-bedroom mansion in Wilmette. A private preschool for Oliver. A brand-new Porsche in the driveway.
All paid for with my father's hard-earned legacy.
"Can they run?" I asked Victoria. "Vivian threatened that Ethan would vanish if I took this to court."
Victoria chuckled—a low, predatory sound.
"They can't run, Claire," Victoria explained smoothly. "Because as of two hours ago, Marcus located the primary asset holding of Vance Bio-Tech. Ethan just filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office for a new non-invasive diagnostic sensor. The valuation of his company is currently pegged at forty million dollars, and he is signing an acquisition deal with Pfizer-Global this Friday at the Drake Hotel."
My eyes narrowed. "Friday? In three days?"
"Yes," Victoria smiled. "If Ethan tries to vanish now, he forfeits the forty-million-dollar buyout. He is trapped by his own greed. He won't leave Chicago until that contract is signed and the money hits his account."
"Who is signing the contract for Vance Bio-Tech?" I asked.
"Julian Vance," Marcus answered. "Ethan will have to present himself, his legal corporate ID, and his biometric signatures to the board of directors in person."
I leaned back against the plush velvet seat, feeling a cold, intoxicating sense of purpose wash over me.
"Then we don't arrest him today," I said softly.
Victoria and Marcus looked at me.
May you like
"What do you want to do, Claire?" Victoria asked.
"I want Ethan to walk into that boardroom on Friday believing he is about to become a forty-million-dollar man," I said, my voice sharp as a shattered mirror. "I want Madeline to prepare her champagne toast. I want Vivian to pick out her diamond dress. And then, right before the pen touches the paper, I want to take everything away from them in front of every investor in North America."
