Chapter 9
The heat from the burning library radiated outward, washing over the front terrace and making the morning air shimmer with distortion. Julian held Clara tighter against his chest, refusing to take another step back, even as the smoke began to curl dangerously close to the stone balustrade where Elena stood.
"You're insane," Julian said, his voice cutting through the crackle of the flames. "You think burning the servers destroys the off-site backups? The federal investigators already have mirror images of every transaction you made over the last twenty years."
Elena’s grip on the heavy brass poker tightened, her knuckles turning white against the dark metal. For a brief second, a flicker of genuine panic crossed her aged features, instantly replaced by a mask of cold, unyielding pride.
"Let them look," Elena sneered, taking a slow step toward the top of the stone stairs. "By the time a federal judge signs a subpoena that holds up in court, every single asset belonging to this family will be transferred into international trusts that no government can touch."
Agent Vance finally caught up with them, walking up the driveway at a steady, unhurried pace. He stopped twenty feet behind Julian, pulling a small audio recording device from his pocket and clicking it into active mode.
"That's a very interesting legal theory, Mrs. Vance," Agent Vance said smoothly, his voice carrying clearly over the roar of the fire. "Especially since unauthorized destruction of evidence under federal investigation carries a mandatory twenty-year sentence without the possibility of parole."
Elena’s eyes snapped toward the agent, her dark gaze locking onto the silver-rimmed glasses. "Who authorized you to step foot on private property? You have no jurisdiction here without local sign-off."
"Actually, Mrs. Vance," Agent Vance replied, stepping closer while keeping his hands visible and empty, "I had the sign-off the moment your son accessed the secure network from his terminal downtown yesterday afternoon. He uploaded the entire ledger directly to our secure cloud storage before you even knew he suspected you."
Julian looked down at Clara in his arms, a sudden, sharp gasp breaking from his wife's lips. Clara’s eyelids fluttered open, her dark eyes wide with terror as she stared up at the burning facade of the house.
"Julian..." Clara whispered, her voice barely a breath. "The... the ledger... she hid the original papers in the basement safe behind the portrait."
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Elena’s face twisted into an expression of pure, unfiltered fury. She raised the heavy brass poker high above her shoulder, sprinting down the stone steps with astonishing speed for a woman of her age, heading straight toward Julian and the unconscious woman in his arms.
"Traitorous bitch!" Elena screamed, lunging forward with the poker aimed directly at Clara’s head.
