Chapter 3 - Eighteen Million Dollars
Alex ordered the library doors locked.
Charles Prescott protested immediately.
“You are detaining innocent people.”
“I am protecting evidence,” Alex replied.
“You have no evidence.”
Julian held up the glove.
“This is a personal item.”
“It proves nothing.”
Alex’s phone rang.
The caller was Naomi Chen, senior counsel for Ward Global.
He answered on speaker.
“Alex, the anomaly we flagged last night is larger than we believed.”
“How large?”
“Eighteen million dollars.”
The room went still.
Naomi continued.
“The transfer originated from the Ward Family Relief Trust.”
“It was divided among six holding companies over the past three weeks.”
“The final beneficiary appears to be Prescott Meridian Holdings.”
Every face turned toward Charles.
His expression did not change.
“I have never heard of that company.”
Naomi spoke again.
“It was incorporated in Delaware fourteen months ago.”
“One of its controlling addresses matches an office leased by the Prescott Foundation.”
Genevieve stepped closer to the phone.
“That is impossible.”
“My father’s foundation controls dozens of properties.”
“A matching address means nothing.”
Alex watched her carefully.
“You knew the trust was under review.”
She looked at him.
“You told me your attorneys were examining everything before the wedding.”
“No.”
“I told you my attorneys were revising our estate documents.”
“I never mentioned the relief trust.”
Genevieve’s face tightened.
Charles intervened.
“Alexander, this has become emotional.”
“Let your lawyers resolve it privately.”
“My daughter has been publicly humiliated.”
Alex laughed once without amusement.
“Eighteen million dollars disappeared from a fund that pays medical bills for injured workers.”
“Privacy is no longer my concern.”
Lucia flinched.
The Ward Family Relief Trust had once paid for her husband Javier’s rehabilitation after a construction accident.
The payments had stopped three weeks before he died.
She had spent months arguing with clerks who claimed the account contained insufficient funds.
At the time, she had assumed bureaucracy was responsible.
Now she looked at Charles Prescott and felt something cold settle inside her.
Naomi continued.
“There is another issue.”
“The transfer was approved using Alex’s biometric authorization.”
“That cannot happen without my physical presence,” Alex said.
“Unless someone created a secondary authentication profile.”
“Who had access to do that?”
Naomi paused.
“Marcus Vane.”
Genevieve turned toward the window.
Alex saw her reflection in the glass.
She was not surprised.
“Where is Marcus?” he asked.
No one answered.
Julian called the company’s flight operations department.
Within minutes, he received confirmation that Marcus’s private jet had requested clearance for Montreal.
Alex ordered the flight blocked.
Then Sofi tugged at his sleeve.
“Mr. Alex?”
He crouched beside her.
“The snake man said the airplane was only the first plan.”
Alex’s skin went cold.
“What was the second plan?”
May you like
Sofi looked toward Genevieve.
“He said the second plan would happen if the little girl talked.”
