Chapter 5: A Web of Whispers
Within forty-eight hours of Arthur’s visit, the Sterling family empire became a warzone. Gossip columns and financial tabloids were flooded with insidious rumors: claims that Julian was abusing prescription pills, that Leo was being kept hostage from qualified therapists, and that the catering waitress, Clara, was an extortionist trying to blackmail the estate.
"They're attacking your character to force the judge's hand," said Marcus Vance, Julian’s fiercely loyal defense attorney, pacing the study. "If Arthur proves you're unstable, the family court will grant him temporary custody of Leo by default. And once he controls Leo, he controls fifty-one percent of the board voting power."
"What about Victoria?" Julian asked. "Is she talking?"
Marcus shook his head grimly. "Her lawyers posted a ten-million-dollar cash bond before noon. She’s on house arrest at her penthouse with an ankle monitor. Arthur’s legal team is paying her defense retainers, which means he bought her silence."
Julian walked to the window overlooking the estate garden. Outside, Clara was gently helping Leo plant a small oak sapling near the stone fountain. For the first time in months, a small smile flickered across the boy's face. Clara possessed a natural, soothing warmth that no amount of money could buy. She represented everything real and human that high society had abandoned.
"We need to break Victoria," Julian decided, his voice hardening. "She’s selfish and narcissistic, but she's also terrified of serving twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary. Arthur promised to protect her, but when wolves get hungry, they eat their own."
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"How do you plan to convince her?" Marcus asked.
Julian turned around, holding up the decrypted files from the flash drive. "By showing her that Arthur has already set up a paper trail to pin Victor’s murder entirely on her."
