Chapter 5
The cold click of steel handcuffs echoed loudly in the cavernous silence of the Grandview Ballroom as the lead detective secured them tightly around Clara’s slender wrists. Clara didn't scream or thrash; instead, she went terrifyingly rigid, her ice-blue eyes locking onto Elena with a look of pure, unadulterated hatred that promised a devastating retribution.
"You haven't won anything, Elena," Clara whispered through clenched teeth as the officers pulled her firmly toward the exit. "You think Marcus is protecting you out of the goodness of his heart? Ask him what happened to your father's shares in the firm."
Elena froze, the color instantly draining from her face as the words hung heavy in the air. She turned her gaze slowly toward Marcus Vance, who suddenly looked uncomfortably old, his expression tightening into a guarded mask as he avoided her searching eyes.
Julian stumbled forward, his hands also cuffed behind his back, his face bruised and swollen from his earlier fall. "Yeah, go ahead and ask him, Elena!" Julian laughed bitterly, blood fleaking his lower lip. "Marcus isn't the benevolent uncle you think he is. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in this family."
"Quiet, Mr. Vance," the second officer warned, giving Julian a sharp nudge forward toward the waiting squad cars outside.
Elena stepped closer to Marcus, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. "Uncle Marcus... what is Julian talking about? What happened to my father's shares after the accident?"
Marcus sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with a hand that visibly shook. "Elena, let's get out of this dreadful room. I'll explain everything in the car on the way to the precinct."
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"No," Elena said firmly, planting her feet on the floor and refusing to move an inch. "You'll tell me right now, or I hand this entire flash drive directly to the federal prosecutor without any redactions."
Marcus looked down at the young woman, seeing the fierce determination in her dark eyes that reminded him so much of her late father, and slowly reached into his inner pocket, pulling out an old, yellowed envelope sealed with faded red wax.
