Chapter 9
With the deputies and Arthur Sterling retreating down the private lane, the heavy doors of the foyer clicked shut, sealing the estate once more in an oppressive silence. Beatrice remained on the landing of the staircase for a long moment, staring down at her son with a look of pure, unadulterated venom before turning silently and disappearing down the private hallway toward her suite. She didn't offer a parting threat or a plea; her silence was far more dangerous, signaling a retreat to lick her wounds and forge a new weapon.
Julian exhaled a breath he felt he had been holding for hours. He leaned back against the cool marble pillar, running both hands over his face. The adrenaline was beginning to fade, leaving behind a profound, bone-deep exhaustion.
“She’s not going to stop,” Julian murmured, his voice cracking slightly. “Beatrice views defeat as a temporary operational delay. If Sterling can’t salvage the divorce framing, she’ll find another angle to dismantle us financially.”
Rebecca walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. The vulnerability she had felt in the ballroom was entirely gone, replaced by a steady, protective strength. “Let her try. We have the digital logs, Marcus is securing the estate networks, and we’ve exposed the collusion between her and her lawyer. For the first time, she’s playing defense.”
Marcus stepped out from the shadows near the corridor, holding a thick manila folder. His face was grim, but his eyes carried a spark of grim satisfaction. “Sir, Mrs. Vance, while you were handling the sheriff’s deputies, I ran a background check on the specific serial numbers of the diamond necklace recovered from Mrs. Vance’s box.”
Julian looked up, his brow furrowing. “What about them? They’re Vance family heirlooms.”
“Not according to the insurance registries,” Marcus replied, opening the folder to reveal a series of certified documents. “Those diamonds were reported stolen three years ago from a private estate in Geneva by an anonymous insured party. The claim was paid out in full by a conglomerate managed by none other than Arthur Sterling’s boutique firm.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened as the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “It wasn't just a setup to frame me for theft. It was an insurance fraud scheme.”
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“Exactly,” Marcus nodded. “Mrs. Vance needed a high-profile public scandal to launder the origin of those stolen stones back into her possession legally. By planting them in your bag during a crowded gala and screaming robbery, she planned to have the police seize them as recovered property, clear their chain of custody through a sympathetic court, and quietly re-register them under a new family trust.”
Julian stared at the documents in stunned silence. The depth of his mother’s corruption far exceeded anything he could have imagined. She hadn't just been trying to punish him for marrying outside her social circle; she had been using their lives as collateral to cover up a felony.
