Chapter 2 - The Papers
The paramedics arrived before the police.
Julian refused to leave Victoria's side while they checked her blood pressure, pulse, and the baby's heartbeat in the library.
The monitor finally produced a fast, steady rhythm.
Victoria cried when she heard it.
Julian bent his forehead against hers.
"She's okay," he whispered.
"For now," the paramedic said. "But with the fall and contractions, she needs to be evaluated at the hospital."
Eleanor stood near the fireplace with her arms crossed.
"This is absurd. She barely fell."
Julian turned.
"Don't speak."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
His voice was calm, but Victoria knew that tone. Julian only became that quiet when anger had gone beyond shouting.
Two officers entered the room.
Eleanor immediately straightened her shoulders.
"I'm Eleanor Vance. This is a private family matter."
One officer looked at Victoria. "Ma'am, do you want to make a statement?"
"Yes."
Eleanor stepped forward. "Victoria. Think carefully."
Julian moved between them.
"Stay away from my wife."
"You would let her have me arrested?"
"You just shoved her while she's eight months pregnant."
"I did not shove her that hard."
The words hung in the air.
Even Eleanor seemed to hear what she had admitted.
The officer reached for his notebook.
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Julian," she said softly, "give him the papers."
He picked up the folder.
Inside were bank statements, internal Vance Industries ledgers, secured debt notices, and a letter from Sterling Global offering a sixty-million-dollar emergency credit facility.
But the offer came with conditions.
An independent forensic audit.
Immediate suspension of related-party transfers.
And removal of any officer found to have concealed liabilities.
Julian read in silence.
Then he looked at Victoria.
"How long have you known?"
"Three weeks."
"You knew my company was failing for three weeks?"
"Your company isn't failing because the business is weak. Someone is bleeding it."
Eleanor snapped, "She's lying."
Victoria pointed at the appendix.
"Then explain the transfers to Alder Ridge Consulting."
Julian flipped pages.
"What is Alder Ridge?"
No one answered.
Victoria looked at Eleanor.
"Ask your mother."
Julian did.
Eleanor's jaw tightened.
"A vendor."
"For what?"
"Strategic services."
"Forty-two million dollars of strategic services?"
Eleanor's eyes hardened.
"You don't understand how this company operates."
Victoria shifted as the paramedics prepared the stretcher.
"I understand this: Alder Ridge has no employees, no office, and no active website. Its registered agent is a law firm in Delaware."
Julian turned another page.
There was a beneficial ownership report.
He stared at it.
Then slowly raised his eyes to his mother.
"Why is Graham Pierce listed here?"
Eleanor said nothing.
Graham Pierce was Vance Industries' chief financial officer.
Julian's closest executive.
The man who had stood beside him at his father's funeral.
The man who had told Julian, two days earlier, that the company had merely suffered a temporary cash-flow mismatch.
Victoria watched the betrayal land on her husband's face.
Then the officer's radio crackled.
A voice said there was a second unit at the Vance corporate offices.
The officer frowned.
"Why are police at the company?"
May you like
Victoria looked at Julian.
"Because I wasn't the only person who found the missing money."
