Chapter 10 - The Federal Custody
The cold, sterile light of the federal interrogation room felt entirely different from the opulent warmth of the Zenith ballroom where this nightmare had begun. Maya sat at a heavy metal table, still wearing her ruined, champagne-stained service top, her bare feet tucked nervously beneath the chair. The leather ledger—the physical proof of twenty years of corporate corruption—sat directly in front of her like an unexploded bomb.
Agent Miller slid a thick manila folder across the table, his expression unreadable. “DNA results from the federal database just came back, Miss Vance. You are legally, indisputably Julian Vance’s biological daughter and the sole surviving heir to his entire multi-billion-dollar estate.”
Maya stared at the document without touching it. The words blurred behind a fresh wave of unspooled tears. She didn’t want his billions. She didn’t want the sprawling real estate empire or the glossy magazine profiles. All she wanted was the mother who had raised her in a tiny apartment, and the old man who had spent his final minutes trying to protect her from the monsters he had trusted for decades.
“He’s really gone, isn’t he?” Maya whispered, her voice cracking as the reality of Julian’s death finally settled into her bones.
“He knew the risks when he decided to expose the syndicate,” Agent Miller replied softly, softening his tone slightly. “Your father spent the last five years secretly gathering evidence against Evangeline Sterling and the corrupt members of his own board of directors. They used the foundation as a massive money-laundering front, funneling millions into offshore accounts while hiding behind charitable facades.”
“And Evangeline?” Maya asked, her hands curling into tight fists on the metal table.
“She’s currently in holding, refusing to speak without her high-priced legal team,” Miller said, leaning forward. “However, her defense is collapsing rapidly. The ledger you pulled from the vault, combined with the encrypted flash drive your father gave you, provides an airtight case of conspiracy, embezzlement, and obstruction of justice. But there is a complication, Maya.”
Maya looked up, her exhaustion momentarily replaced by sharp suspicion. “What kind of complication?”
“According to the corporate charter Julian signed twenty years ago, the Vance Foundation cannot be inherited automatically without a formal board confirmation vote,” Miller explained, tapping the manila folder. “And since three of the four board members are directly implicated in Evangeline’s syndicate, they are legally contesting your legitimacy to block the audit from going public.”
Maya let out a dry, humorless laugh. “So even from the grave, these criminals are trying to steal my family’s name?”
“They are going to fight you with everything they have,” Miller warned. “They will paint you as an opportunistic impostor who manipulated an ailing billionaire. And right now, public opinion is swinging heavily in their favor thanks to a coordinated PR campaign launched by Evangeline’s legal team.”
Before Maya could process the sheer scale of the battle ahead, the interrogation room door swung open abruptly. A young, impeccably dressed woman in a sharp charcoal suit stepped inside, carrying a sleek leather briefcase and a certified court document.
May you like
“Agent Miller, pardon the interruption,” the lawyer said briskly, fixing her sharp eyes on Maya. “I am Clara Vance—Julian’s corporate counsel and his designated executor. And we have less than twelve hours before the emergency injunction hearing that will strip Maya of her inheritance forever.”
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