Chapter 7 - The Shadows of Beacon Hill
The golden light of late spring bathed the Boston Common in a warm glow, but beneath the surface of the city's polite society, the remnants of the old guard were still whispering.
Julian Vance’s sudden pivot from the ruthless "Don of Back Bay" to a philanthropic family man had sent shockwaves through the financial districts. While the public praised his transition, the old-money families of Beacon Hill—men who had dirty hands and clean suits, much like Julian’s father had—saw his vulnerability as an opportunity.
At the exclusive Somerset Club, three men sat in a private dining room, the air thick with the scent of expensive cigars and aged brandy.
"Julian has gone soft," remarked Charles Harrington, a senior partner at Boston’s largest private equity firm. Harrington had been a contemporary of Arthur Vance, a man who believed that a family’s dirty laundry should remain buried forever. "He’s funding charity trusts, parading those... children around, and dragging the Vance name through the mud of public scrutiny."
"It’s a liability for all of us," agreed Thomas Sterling, a city councilman whose campaigns had been funded by the old Vance syndicate. "If Julian starts opening up his father's private ledgers to fund this foundation, he’s going to expose thirty years of political payoffs. We need to stop him."
"And how do you propose we do that?" asked the third man, a cold-eyed attorney named Richard Croft. "He controls the board. He has Elias Mercer running his security. You can't threaten Julian Vance."
"You don't threaten Julian," Harrington sneered, a dark smile touching his lips. "You threaten his legacy. The little girl, Lily... her biological mother was never officially recorded. If we can prove that the surrogacy was illegal under state law, we can have the state take custody of those children. We can break him by taking his family."
May you like
Croft leaned back, his eyes narrowing. "That would require a judge who is willing to sign an emergency custody order. And a state agency that is willing to move quickly."
"I have the judge," Sterling said. "And I have the department. We move next week."
