Chapter 2 - The Audit of ShadowsBy 9:00 a.m. the following morning, the third-degree burn specialists at St. Jude’s had applied advanced silver-sulfadiazine skin grafts across my shoulders and upper back.
The physical pain was an agonizing, burning fire that throbbed with every heartbeat, but my mind was sharper, clearer, and more dangerous than it had ever been.
Sitting beside my bed was Sarah Sterling—my former senior litigation partner from Sterling, Vance & Associates, and one of the most feared forensic accountants in Illinois.
Sarah set a sleek leather briefcase on my bedside table, opening it to reveal three thick binders filled with certified banking ledgers, tax disclosures, and offshore wire receipts.
"You were right, Evelyn," Sarah said softly, her eyes holding deep respect and anger as she handed me a cold cup of water with a straw. "When Daniel tried to execute that forged property transfer six months ago, he didn't just target your late father's inheritance trust."
I took a slow sip of water, resting my head carefully back against the pillows to avoid pressure on my bandages. "What did he touch, Sarah?"
Sarah pulled a highlighted ledger from the first binder, laying it flat across my tray table.
"Daniel opened six offshore shell accounts in the Cayman Islands and Liechtenstein under the name Vance Global Logistics," Sarah explained, pointing to a series of high-volume wire transfers. "For eighteen months, he’s been draining his own family’s commercial shipping firm to fund his mother’s gambling debts and his own private real estate acquisitions in Miami."
I looked down at the numbers. Over fourteen million dollars had been siphoned out of Vance Shipping—the company owned jointly by Daniel and his younger brother, Julian.
"Does Julian know?" I asked quietly.
"Julian suspected something three months ago," Sarah revealed. "He tried to run an internal audit, but Daniel blocked him, telling the board that Julian was suffering from substance abuse issues—the exact same story he was using against you."
A cold rage burned through my chest. Daniel hadn't just tried to destroy me; he was a systematic predator who destroyed anyone standing between him and his bloated vanity.
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"Julian is downstairs in the lobby right now, Evelyn," Sarah added. "He brought his own legal team. He wants to see you."
"Bring him up," I commanded cleanly. "It's time to show Julian how his brother built his empire."
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