Chapter 26 - The Trap is Set
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Ben and I sat at the kitchen table beneath the warm light of the chandelier, turning the yellowed pages of my mother’s secret notebook.
It wasn't a record of debt. It was a record of ownership.
"My God," Ben whispered, scanning the notarized deeds and financial routing numbers. "Dad didn't lose the empire to Vanguard Apex, Lyd. Dad founded Vanguard Apex."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
"Dad created Vanguard thirty years ago as an offshore investment group," Ben explained, his eyes wide with shock. "When he realized the other directors—including Julianna Vance—were using the firm to launder cartel funds, he pulled out and took the controlling share certificates with him. He hid them right here."
"So Julianna doesn't want twenty million dollars," I realized, the horror dawning on me. "She wants these share certificates! If she gets these papers, she gets legal control of a five-billion-dollar shadow network!"
"And if she gets them," Ben added darkly, "she'll eliminate the only people who hold a superior claim—you, me, and Clara."
I looked out the kitchen window into the dark backyard. The fear that had stalked me since Clara's birth was completely gone, replaced by an iron-hard resolve that surged through my veins. My father had fought these monsters. My mother had hidden the truth to protect us. Now it was my turn to finish it.
I picked up my phone and dialed Tessa Morgan.
"Tessa," I said when she answered. "I need you to schedule a meeting with the United States Attorney for the Eastern District. Tell them we have the master ledgers for Vanguard Apex."
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"Lydia, what are you planning?" Tessa asked, her voice tense over the line.
"Julianna Vance gave me seven days," I said, looking over at Ben, who gave me a sharp, approving nod. "We're giving her twenty-four hours. We're going to use my mother's legacy to set a trap she'll never walk out of."
