Chapter 4 - Cornering the Wolf
Room 814 of the Royalton smelled of expensive cologne, room-service steak, and cheap panic.
Julian Vance was hastily shoving designer suits into a leather duffel bag when the knock sounded at his door. He froze, his handsome face tightening.
"Room service?" he called out warily.
"FedEx, Mr. Vance. Signature required for documents from the Sterling Foundation."
Julian let out a relieved breath and unlocked the door.
The moment the latch clicked, the heavy wood door was shoved violently inward, slamming Julian against the wall. Frank Miller stepped in first, his imposing frame blocking the doorway, followed closely by Ryan and Claire.
Julian scrambled backward, his eyes darting toward the nightstand where a gold watch and an envelope of cash lay in plain sight. "Who the hell are you? Get out before I call the cops!"
"Go ahead," Ryan said, his voice deadly calm as he stepped into the center of the room. He towered over Julian, his broad shoulders and commanding presence filling the space. "Call them. Tell them you're harboring embezzled funds from the Sterling Trust. Tell them you're running an extortion ring with Diane Sterling."
Julian swallowed hard, his bravado vanishing instantly. He looked at Ryan’s face, then at Claire, and the color drained from his cheeks. "You're... you're Ryan Sterling."
"And you're apparently my 'father,'" Ryan said with venomous sarcasm. "Which is quite an achievement considering you were still in kindergarten when I was born."
Julian backed up until his calves hit the edge of the king-sized bed. He raised his hands defensively. "Look, man, that wasn't my idea! That was Diane! She lost her mind last night after that girl dropped those photos! She called me at three in the morning screaming that everything was blown, told me to pack my bags, and promised another half-million wire transfer once I landed in Switzerland!"
Claire walked past Julian, picked up the thick envelope on the nightstand, and opened it. Bundles of hundred-dollar bills sat inside, wrapped in Sterling Private Bank paper bands.
"She used a private courier from the family vault," Claire noted, turning to Julian with a gaze that could cut glass. "Julian, you have two choices right now. Option one: you get on that plane to Zurich. But the moment you land, INTERPOL will be waiting at the gate. Frank here has already filed a preemptive financial fraud report with the Department of Justice naming you as an accomplice to money laundering."
Julian began to sweat profusely, a bead rolling down his sculpted cheek. "And... and option two?"
"Option two," Claire said, leaning in, "is you give us your phone. You give us the text messages, the voice recordings, the signed agreements where Diane instructed you to siphon funds from the shipping patents. You sign an affidavit detailing every lie she forced you to tell."
"And what do I get?" Julian stammered.
"You get to walk away without a federal indictment," Ryan growled, stepping into Julian's personal space until their chests almost touched. "And you get to watch the woman who used you go to prison in your place. Decide. Now."
Julian didn't hesitate. He lunged toward the desk, grabbed an encrypted smartphone, and thrust it toward Claire.
"The password is her birthday—well, her fake birthday, the one she tells the press," Julian spilled frantically. "There are over four hundred texts. Voice memos, too. She bragged about how she had Richard wrapped around her finger. She laughed about how easy it was to make him doubt Ryan because of his own damn pride."
Claire unlocked the device, her thumb flicking rapidly through the screen. Her eyes lit up with cold satisfaction.
"It’s all here," she said, looking up at Ryan. "The bank account numbers. The instructions to stage the photos if Richard ever got suspicious, so she could claim blackmail. And her direct confession that she planned to bankrupt the family estate before Richard discovered her embezzlement."
Ryan took the phone into his hands. Seeing the cold, calculated cruelty spelled out in black and white made his stomach twist, but the fog of doubt that had suffocated him since the night before lifted completely.
"The board meeting is in three hours," Ryan said, glancing at Claire.
May you like
"Then let's not keep my beloved stepmother waiting," Claire replied, a razor-sharp smile touching her lips. "She ruined my birthday cake. It’s only fair we ruin her entire life."
***
