Chapter 1: The First Move
Harrison leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled beneath his chin.
"What you're supposed to do," he said quietly, "is survive."
Khloe looked at him through tear-filled eyes.
"I don't want revenge, Harry."
"I know."
"I just want my daughter."
"And that's exactly why you're going to win."
For the next six weeks, Harrison became more than a brother.
He became a fortress.
He quietly arranged for Khloe to move into a private townhouse owned through one of his law firm's holding companies. Richard searched everywhere after discovering she had left the Harrington estate, but every address led to another dead end.
Meanwhile, Harrison's investigators worked around the clock.
Former accountants.
Cyber-forensic specialists.
Private investigators.
Every hidden account Richard believed impossible to trace slowly surfaced.
Offshore corporations in the Cayman Islands.
Luxury condominiums purchased under false ownership.
Payments disguised as consulting fees.
Even Vanessa's lavish lifestyle had been financed with money taken from marital assets.
Harrison never confronted Richard.
He simply collected evidence.
Because unlike ordinary lawyers...
He never walked into court unless he had already won.
One afternoon Richard finally received an envelope.
There were no threats.
No emotional accusations.
Only one sheet of paper.
Preserve all financial records immediately.
Litigation has commenced.
Signed,
Harrison Cole.
Richard felt his stomach drop.
He knew that signature.
Every executive in Pennsylvania knew it.
Deals collapsed when Harrison entered a courtroom.
Politicians resigned before facing him.
Judges listened carefully whenever he spoke.
Richard suddenly realized...
This wasn't a divorce anymore.
It was an execution.
Vanessa wasn't worried.
She laughed after reading the notice.
"He's just trying to scare you."
Richard wasn't so sure.
Three days later the Internal Revenue Service requested documents.
The Securities Commission opened an inquiry.
One lender froze financing for Harrington Commercial's newest billion-dollar development.
Investors began asking uncomfortable questions.
Richard stared at the growing pile of legal notices.
May you like
For the first time in years...
He felt fear.
