Chapter 10 - Eleanor's Ledger
The attempted abduction changed everything.
The judge revoked Eleanor's bail the next morning.
She denied ordering anyone to Victoria's house.
"My mother is many things," Julian told Detective Mara Chen, "but she doesn't hire fake paramedics."
Chen raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
"No."
That answer hurt.
Naomi's team finally cracked one of Graham's encrypted drives.
Inside was a spreadsheet titled E.V. LEDGER.
It tracked payments for twelve years.
Shell companies.
Private investigators.
Political donations.
Law firms.
Security contractors.
And dozens of cash withdrawals.
One line item repeated every quarter:
MERCER - FAMILY PRESERVATION.
The payments totaled 3.8 million dollars.
"Who's Mercer?" Victoria asked.
Detective Chen searched the name.
"Caleb Mercer. Former Chicago police. Lost his badge after an excessive-force case. Runs private security now."
Julian recognized the name.
"He worked for my father once."
"Apparently he kept working for your mother."
Chen pulled up Mercer's company records.
One of his vans had been photographed near Victoria's house during the attempted abduction.
Another had passed a toll camera near the motel where Ross met Julian.
"We have enough for a warrant," Chen said.
Mercer's office was empty when police arrived.
His apartment was empty too.
But one locker at his private training facility held files.
Photographs of Julian.
Victoria.
Naomi.
Samuel Ross.
And a surveillance schedule covering the next two weeks.
Victoria's due date was circled in red.
Under it someone had written:
TRANSFER WINDOW.
Julian stared at the words.
"What does that mean?"
Naomi had already reached the same conclusion.
"The Sterling trust amendment."
Victoria shook her head.
"Temporary incapacity after childbirth."
"If they got you admitted and had Julian's forged consent," Naomi said, "they could trigger an emergency guardianship petition."
Julian felt sick.
"And if they removed me from Vance Industries with the forged resignation..."
"Eleanor could argue that you were unable to manage Victoria's interests because of your own corporate crisis."
Victoria whispered, "Then who gets control?"
Naomi turned another page.
A proposed court filing named a successor guardian.
Not Eleanor.
Graham Pierce.
Julian stared.
"She was going to give Graham control of Sterling?"
"Temporarily," Naomi said. "Long enough to move assets."
Detective Chen's phone rang.
She listened for ten seconds.
Then her expression hardened.
"They found Graham's car."
"Where?"
"At O'Hare."
Julian stood.
"He ran."
Chen shook her head.
"No. His passport is still in the glove compartment."
Victoria felt a chill.
"Then where is he?"
May you like
Chen looked at them.
"His blood is in the trunk."
