Chapter 13 - THE OFFER VICTOR MADE FROM JAIL
Victor requested a meeting with Elena.
She refused.
He sent an offer through his attorney.
He would plead guilty to unlawful confinement and financial fraud.
In exchange, prosecutors would drop the murder charge involving Arthur.
He would also reveal where the remaining foundation money had been hidden.
The offshore accounts contained more than sixty million dollars.
Elena read the proposal.
“He still thinks he owns the truth.”
Mara agreed.
Without Victor’s help, recovering the money could take years.
Several charities faced closure.
Children’s clinics depended on those funds.
Victor knew the moral pressure.
He expected Elena to feel responsible for innocent people.
“He used Lily to control me,” Elena said.
“Now he is using sick children.”
Ethan sat across from her.
“What do you want to do?”
“I want him tried for killing Dad.”
“Then we reject it.”
Elena looked at him.
“Sixty million dollars could help thousands of people.”
“Yes.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Victor stole it.”
“You did not.”
She leaned back.
“That is easy to say.”
“No.”
“It is necessary to say.”
Ethan placed the offer on the table.
“Victor spent years making you responsible for every consequence of his choices.”
“You do not carry this one.”
Elena rejected the deal.
Federal accountants traced the offshore money without Victor’s assistance.
It took four months.
They recovered forty-eight million dollars.
The remaining funds had been spent or moved beyond immediate reach.
Victor’s attorney called Elena selfish.
The public-relations campaign claimed she chose revenge over charity.
Arthur’s original ledger showed the truth.
Victor had stolen more than the sixty million he offered to return.
He was bargaining with a fraction of what belonged to others.
Elena released one statement.
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“A thief does not become generous because he offers to return part of what he stole in exchange for avoiding a murder trial.”
The campaign collapsed.
