Chapter 7
Back at the suburban estate, the morning sun poured through the high windows of the master bedroom, illuminating dust motes dancing in the undisturbed air. Lily paced frantically across the Persian rug, her phone clutched so tightly in her hand her knuckles had turned pure white. The secure line to Julian was ringing endlessly, punctuated by hollow, nerve-wracking dial tones.
"Pick up, damn you," Lily hissed under her breath, stopping near the vanity mirror to check her makeup, noting with disgust the dark circles under her eyes.
The phone finally connected on the fifth ring. Julian’s voice came through the speaker, breathless and laced with genuine panic. "Lily? Where is Mark? Why aren't you answering your secure comms?"
"Mark’s gone," Lily snapped, her composure completely fraying. "He slipped out the back window last night before Miller’s team could secure the perimeter. And worse—the offshore accounts are locked. I just received an automated Vanguard compliance warning stating our primary transfer pathways have been flagged for federal asset review."
On the other end of the line, Julian let out a sharp, ragged gasp. "Locked? That’s impossible. Those pathways were routed through triple-blinded shell companies. No one outside our inner circle has the administrative keys to trigger a federal freeze!"
"Well, someone did!" Lily shouted, slamming her hand down against the wooden vanity. "If the feds trace those accounts back to the corporate treasury, we’re all going down for wire fraud and conspiracy. Miller is already sweating through his uniform down at the precinct because Mark preserved a sample of the wine."
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"Calm down, Lily," Julian ordered, his voice dropping into a desperate attempt at authority. "We stick to the secondary contingency plan. We declare Mark legally incapacitated due to acute psychological distress, file an emergency conservatorship petition through our judge in the county court, and liquidate the remaining liquid assets before the federal auditors even finish their morning coffee. I'll meet you at the downtown courthouse in an hour. Do not fail."
The line went dead with a sharp click. Lily stared at the blank screen of her phone, a cold knot forming in her stomach. The margin for error had vanished entirely. She walked over to her walk-in closet, grabbed a sharp designer trench coat, and strode out of the master bedroom, leaving the sprawling house empty and echoing behind her.
