Chapter 8: Digital Confessions
The Vance & Vance office was completely dark when they returned, the moonlight casting long, silver beams through the large front windows. Julian led Claire and a sleepy Lily up the stairs to his private office. He settled Lily on the leather sofa with her stuffed bear, draping his overcoat over her small shoulders so she could sleep undisturbed.
Then, he sat down at his mahogany desk and powered on the desktop terminal. The screen flickered to life, illuminating his tense face in a harsh blue glow.
Julian inserted the titanium flash drive into the USB port. A single folder appeared on the desktop, labeled simply: The Truth. Inside were three high-definition video files and a series of scanned bank statements.
"Should we look at the statements first?" Claire asked, standing behind him, her hands resting lightly on the back of his chair.
"No," Julian said grimly. "Let's see what he recorded."
He clicked on the first video file. The screen went black for a moment before the camera adjusted, revealing the interior of a dimly lit storage unit. Their father, Arthur Vance, sat in a folding chair, looking older and frailer than he ever had in life. Standing behind him, half-shadowed by the poor lighting, was a much younger version of David, looking tense and defensive.
“If you’re watching this, Julian, it means I’m gone,” their father’s voice rang out from the computer speakers, sounding tired and raspy. “And it means David finally found the courage to show you what I spent my whole life hiding.”
Julian gripped the edge of the desk, his knuckles turning white. On screen, the older man cleared his throat, looking directly into the camera lens as if looking straight into Julian’s eyes.
“The municipal library project—the one that made our firm’s reputation twenty years ago? I didn't win the bid on merit. I bribed the city zoning commissioner. Every award, every major contract, every bit of prestige we built Vance Architectural Restoration upon... it was all bought with money we didn't earn, backed by loans we secured through fraudulent asset valuations.”
Claire gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. The revelation hung in the stifling office air like poison.
May you like
On screen, David stepped out of the shadows, his face tight with suppressed fury. “You didn't know, did you, Julian?” video-David snapped at the camera. “You were always the golden boy, traveling the world, designing museums while Dad and I kept the rot hidden beneath the floorboards. When Dad died, I wanted out. I wanted to confess, to wipe the slate clean. But you wanted to expand. You took out more loans on a foundation built on quicksand. And now, the bill is coming due.”
The video cut to black.
