Chapter 12 - The Ghost of Blackwood Manor
Within an hour, the penthouse was transformed into a war room. Tactical monitors flickered across the walls, decoding the encrypted frequencies radiating from the miniature transmitter. Outside, heavy autumn rain began to lash against the towering windows, casting weeping shadows across Julian’s face.
"Edward Sterling’s body was never recovered from the wreckage," Sophia whispered, pacing beside the floor-to-ceiling glass, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Everyone assumed the ocean took him. But the audit files I pulled last night show a labyrinth of blind trusts in the Cayman Islands that have been actively liquidating shares since the day Victoria was arrested."
Julian stared at the high-resolution satellite imagery of Blackwood Manor—the decaying, ancestral estate in upstate New York where his father had ruled with an iron fist. "Victoria didn't construct the offshore money-laundering network alone. She was a puppet. Even while she was publicly dragging Elena by her hair, she was taking orders from someone else."
Elena walked over, her hazel eyes blazing with a fierce, protective fire that defied fear. She had survived Victoria's public humiliation, survived the attempts on her pregnancy, and she was not about to let a resurrected ghost snatch her baby's future. "We don't wait for him to strike our nursery, Julian. We take the offensive. If Edward is alive, he wants the master vault beneath Blackwood."
"Elena, it's a death trap," Julian warned, turning to grip her shoulders. "My father was a sociopath who made Victoria look like an amateur. If he has returned, it's not just to claim his money—he wants to annihilate everyone who dared to rewrite his legacy."
"Then we rewrite it in his blood," Elena responded, her voice icy and resolute.
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Suddenly, the security screens blared crimson. An automated voice echoed: *Perimeter breach, sub-level parking.* The CCTV showed two heavily armed operatives dressed in private tactical gear executing the lobby guards with suppressed pistols.
"They’re here for Leo!" Sophia screamed.
