Chapter 14 - The First Sacrifice
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"Give me the ledgers, Claire!" Victoria demanded, her voice rising in sheer panic, drawing the attention of a nearby guard. She lowered her voice to a desperate hiss. "My lawyers can orchestrate a secure handover! If you give them to the police, the Russians will kill us all!"
"I’m not giving them to the police," I replied softly.
I looked at the terrified woman, a sudden, horrifying realization clicking into place.
"Trevor’s father didn't die of a heart attack seven years ago, did he?" I asked, the pieces of the puzzle finally connecting. "He was the CEO before you took over. Seven years ago, the board requested a comprehensive forensic audit of the family office. He was going to authorize it."
Victoria froze, her breathing shallow and ragged.
"An audit would have exposed the money laundering," I continued, feeling sick to my stomach. "You couldn't convince him to stop it. So you poisoned him. Just like you poisoned my sons. Noah and Caleb weren't the first people you sacrificed to protect your Russian bank account."
Victoria looked down at the metal counter, refusing to meet my eyes, a silent, damning confession.
"He was going to ruin everything," Victoria whispered defensively, trying to justify the murder of her own husband. "He was weak. The syndicate would have killed him anyway. I did what was necessary to protect the family legacy."
"You protected a bank account!" I shouted, slamming my hand against the plexiglass, startling her. "You murdered my babies to stop an audit!"
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"And what are you going to do about it?" Victoria snarled, her arrogance returning defensively. "You can't prove I killed my husband. You can barely prove I killed those brats! I will get out of here, Claire."
"No," I promised her quietly. "You won't."
