Chapter 19 - Crypt of the Oligarchs
"What lies are you spewing now, Victoria?" Julian barked, his voice echoing off the decaying walls.
"Lies?" Victoria sneered, slowly walking down the grand staircase, step by deliberate step, entirely unfazed by the gun pointed at her chest. "Twenty-five years ago, Edward Sterling didn't build an empire through brilliant investments. He built it by murdering his business partner—Arthur Vance. Your grandfather, Elena."
Elena’s breath hitched in her throat. The world seemed to tilt on its axis. "You're lying..."
"Arthur Vance had the original patents for the biometric security systems that made the Sterling family billionaires," Victoria purred, her eyes flashing with wicked glee. "Edward had Arthur murdered in this very house, forged the deed of ownership, and stole the Vance fortune. But Edward was sloppy. Arthur hid the original handwritten bearer bonds and patent deeds inside the subterranean crypt, locked beneath a biometric code that only Arthur’s direct bloodline could unlock."
Julian’s face drained of color as the horrific puzzle pieces clicked into place. "That’s why you tortured Elena. That’s why you tried to force her to miscarry, and why you wanted her stripped of everything... you needed her alive until you could access her DNA!"
"Clever boy," a deep, gravelly voice resonated from the shadows beneath the grand staircase.
From the darkened archway leading to the underground crypt, a tall figure emerged. He had silver hair swept back like a lion’s mane, cold slate eyes that were an exact, chilling replica of Julian’s, and a long scar running from his ear down his neck.
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Edward Sterling walked into the dim light, flanked by two heavily armed mercenaries. He looked at Julian not with the warmth of a father returning from the dead, but with the cold detachment of a farmer evaluating livestock.
"Welcome home, Julian," Edward said, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder. "Now, hand over your wife so we can open the final door."
