Chapter 10 - The Unseen Hand
Three weeks later, the world had settled into a new, glittering reality.
Audrey was officially installed as the Chief Executive Officer of Miller-Vance Holdings, with the Vance name slated to be completely removed from all corporate branding by the end of the quarter. Under her sharp leadership and Daniel’s strategic alliance, the company’s stock soared past its five-year high.
The divorce was finalized in record time. Lucas, sitting in the Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting trial without bail, had signed every document placed in front of him, broken by the mountain of federal evidence stacked against him. Naomi Cross had fled the country, only to be detained at an airport in Dubai on international embezzlement warrants.
Everything seemed perfect. Too perfect.
It was a rainy Tuesday night when Marcus Vance walked into Daniel’s private home office with a dark, troubled expression on his usually unreadable face.
Audrey and Daniel were reviewing blueprints for the new Miller Foundation children's wing. Daniel looked up immediately, sensing the shift in the air. "What is it, Marcus?"
"Lucas’s bail hearing took an unexpected turn an hour ago," Marcus said, his voice unusually low.
Audrey set her pen down, a cold prickle of unease running down her spine. "The federal judge denied bail two weeks ago. There is no appeal available until the grand jury convenes next month."
"An emergency habeas corpus petition was filed at four p.m.," Marcus explained, pulling a certified court order from his briefcase. "A foreign sovereign trust posted a seventy-five million dollar cash bond. In full. Lucas was walked out of MDC through the service tunnel twenty minutes ago."
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Daniel stood up instantly, his entire demeanor shifting from calm executive to lethal predator. "Seventy-five million in cash? Who holds that trust, Marcus?"
"That
