Chapter 26 - The Unraveling
I stared down at Sebastian Vance, watching the smug arrogance return to his bruised features. He genuinely believed that a piece of paper signed in a Zurich vault three decades ago could chain me down.
I reached into my inner pocket, pulled out my phone, and tapped the screen.
"Miller," I said quietly. "Patch through the live audio feed from the Manhattan Federal Detention Center."
A static chirp buzzed through my phone's speaker, followed by the crisp, echoing sound of an interrogation room.
*"Look at me, Richard,"* a sharp federal prosecutor’s voice commanded. *"We have the wire logs. We have the shell accounts in the Caymans. Castellano flipped thirty minutes ago. He gave us the encrypted communication logs with Vance Private Equity. You are facing twenty-five years for conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering. Your daughter Vanessa has already started talking in the next room."*
Then, my father’s voice filled the warehouse—broken, sobbing, completely unspooled.
*"It wasn't me! It was Sebastian Vance! Vance forced me into it thirty years ago! He held the fake notes over my head! I have the original copies in my safe deposit box at JPMorgan! The ones proving Marcus was innocent! I’ll give them to you! I’ll sign whatever you want, just don't put me in general population! Please! I can't survive in prison!"*
Vance’s face froze. The color drained from his skin until he was as pale as the concrete beneath his feet.
"You see, Vance," Clara’s voice sounded behind me as she stepped out of the SUV, holding a swaddled Evelyn close to her chest. "Richard’s absolute cowardice has always been his defining trait. The moment federal marshals put steel on his wrists, he didn't just confess—he vomited thirty years of your dirty laundry onto a federal recording."
"That’s impossible," Vance whispered, his lips trembling. "Richard didn't keep those records. He was supposed to burn them."
"A narcissist never burns insurance," I said coldly, stepping closer until I was inches from Vance’s face. "My father kept those original forged ledgers because he thought that if you ever came to collect, he could use them to blackmail you. He handed them to the United States Attorney’s Office ten minutes ago in exchange for protective custody."
Vance’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated horror.
"The Southern District of New York just issued an emergency Red Notice for your arrest," I continued, tapping the screen to bring up a legal memorandum drafted by our corporate attorneys. "Your consortium’s assets in New York, London, and Geneva are being frozen under the RICO Act as we speak. You aren't liquidating my company, Vance. By tomorrow morning, you won't even have enough money left to pay for a public defender."
"No..." Vance gasped, struggling violently against his zip-ties. "No! You can't do this! I am Sebastian Vance! I built modern European private equity!"
"You're a kidnapper who stole an infant from her crib," Clara said, her voice filled with pure, unyielding contempt. "And you’re going to die in a concrete cage."
I turned to Miller. "Call the FBI. Give them the coordinates. Tell them we have the primary target of the Castellano-Vance syndicate ready for pickup."
"Understood, boss," Miller said, snapping a brisk salute before gesturing to his men.
I walked over to Marcus. My uncle was trembling, holding his bandaged shoulder, staring at the floor as if waiting for me to strike him.
"Marcus," I said.
He looked up, tears cutting through the grime on his face. "Julian... I don't expect you to forgive me. I should have died before I let them touch that house."
I reached out, placing a firm hand on his uninjured shoulder. "You took a bullet trying to stop them. That's more than my biological father ever did for anyone in his entire life."
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Marcus broke down completely, his head falling forward as wracking sobs shook his battered frame.
"Miller," I ordered. "Get my uncle to our private clinic. Clean him up, give him the best trauma care in the state, and assign two men to guard his door. When he’s healed... he’s coming home with us."
