The Little Girl Whispered, “Someone Is Poisoning You”… Then the Billionaire Asked His Fiancée to Take the First Bite

Though Marcus Mason was in cuffs, Daniel knew the snake’s head had not yet been severed.

An hour after the dramatic arrest at headquarters, Daniel sat in Prosecutor Beltrán’s high-security office overlooking the Manhattan skyline.

"Marcus has already agreed to a full confession," Beltrán reported, sliding a tablet across her desk. "He’s trying to avoid a life sentence without parole. He confirmed that Apex Global paid him fifty million dollars upfront to facilitate the takeover of Carter Enterprises."

"Who at Apex gave the order?" Daniel asked, his eyes locked on the screen.

"That’s the problem," Beltrán admitted, sighing heavily. "Apex Global isn't run by a board of directors. It’s owned by a private entity called The Sterling Group—a blind trust based in Lichtenstein. We can't identify the ultimate beneficial owner."

Daniel leaned back, tapping his fingers against his knee. "I can."

Beltrán looked up, surprised. "How?"

"Because there is only one person in the global infrastructure market who knew about the private Northern Rail bidding parameters," Daniel said softly. "The same person who tried to ruin my late wife’s estate eight years ago."

Daniel stood up, turning toward Sarah Lin, who was waiting near the door. "Sarah, bring up the personal flight logs for Julian Sterling."

Sarah’s fingers flew across her keyboard. "Julian Sterling... founder of Sterling Logistics. He landed at JFK private terminal two hours ago on a private jet from London."

"Where is he now?"

"He’s checked into the penthouse suite at the St. Regis Hotel," Sarah replied. "He has an official dinner reservation tonight at nine with the European Infrastructure Commission."

Daniel picked up his coat. "Cancel his dinner."

"Daniel," Beltrán warned, standing up from her desk. "Julian Sterling is a foreign billionaire with diplomatic immunity through his government advisory role in the UK. You can't just arrest him without ironclad physical proof connecting him directly to the poison or the hitmen."