Chapter 2
Arthur Sterling did not hesitate. His thick fingers closed relentlessly around the collar of Marcus’s dark grey button-down shirt, yanking the younger man backward with brutal, calculated force. Marcus stumbled, his muscular frame suddenly useless against the sheer, overwhelming authority radiating from Arthur. A sharp grunt of surprise tore from Marcus’s throat as he was shoved violently against the side of the idling sedan, the metal groaning under the impact.
A few feet away, Chloe Sterling stood frozen in an uncharacteristic display of raw vulnerability. Her long blonde hair fell in disarray around her bare shoulders, and her hands instinctively flew up to clutch the neckline of her beige strapless dress against her chest, as if she were trying to physically hold her collapsing world together. Her intense, dramatic eyes darted wildly between her furious father and the cold, unyielding figure of Victoria Vance.
Victoria remained entirely detached from the physical struggle unfolding before her. She calmly stepped over a cluster of foreign banknotes scattered from the spilled vanity case, refusing to let the chaos disrupt her composure. With slow, deliberate movements, she opened the heavy black folder tucked beneath her arm. Inside rested crisp, legal documents bearing official seals and damp ink signatures. She began to read the pages aloud, her voice ringing clear and steady against the echoing concrete walls of the parking garage. The documents detailed years of corporate embezzlement, hidden offshore accounts, and systematic asset stripping orchestrated jointly by Marcus and Chloe.
Arthur glanced briefly at his daughter, his jaw tightening until the muscles stood out in stark relief. He kept one heavy hand firmly pinned to Marcus’s chest, effectively trapping him against the vehicle. "Is this true, Chloe?" Arthur demanded, his voice dropping into a low, menacing register that commanded absolute obedience. "Have you been draining the firm's development funds to finance this parasite's lifestyle?"
Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her chest heaved beneath her trembling hands, her facade of untouchable confidence completely shattered. She realized too late that Victoria had not stumbled upon them by chance; this was an execution meticulously scheduled down to the exact second.
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Victoria turned a page in the black folder, her expression remaining professionally neutral. "The total missing capital exceeds four million dollars, Arthur," Victoria stated, her tone conversational yet devastating. "And as of this morning, all signatures on the holding company accounts have been legally reverted to my sole custody."
Marcus let out a strangled roar of frustration, trying to push past Arthur's iron grip, but the older man simply tightened his hold, cutting off Marcus's breath and silencing him instantly. The trap had sprung, and neither of them had anywhere left to run.
