Chapter 21
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The conference room at Sterling & Hayes, the law firm that had helped dismantle the Vance empire, was a fortress of glass and polished steel. Maya sat at the head of the long table, flanked by two senior litigators. I sat to her right, a silent but immovable presence. We did not offer Elias Thorne coffee or pleasantries when he walked through the heavy glass doors, accompanied by his own sharp-suited attorney.
Elias looked around the room, clearly unbothered by the show of legal force. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down, placing a slim, black leather folder on the table.
"I appreciate you taking the time, Maya," Elias smiled, opening the folder. "As I mentioned at the Grand Aster, my clients are simply looking to balance their ledgers. Julian Vance borrowed thirty million dollars to float his struggling shell companies, using the Blackwood estate as a quiet collateral guarantee."
He slid a heavily redacted, watermarked document across the table. Maya’s lead attorney, a brilliant woman named Sarah, picked it up and reviewed it carefully.
"This is a photocopy," Sarah stated coldly. "And it appears to bear Julian Vance’s signature, alongside a secondary signature claiming to be Eleanor Blackwood."
I leaned forward, looking at the page. The signature claiming to be mine was a remarkably good forgery, mimicking the sharp loops I used on official documents decades ago. But there was a fatal flaw.
"Look at the date," I said, pointing to the top right corner. "November 14th."
Maya’s breath caught in her throat for a fraction of a second. November 14th was the exact night Genevieve had slapped her. It was the night our entire world had shattered, the night I finally realized that the Vance name could not protect us.
"Julian did not sign financial contracts that night," I stated with absolute, unyielding certainty. "He was busy orchestrating the cover-up of an assault on his daughter. He was dealing with doctors and security teams. He was not meeting with offshore equity lenders."
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"Memory is a fragile thing, Eleanor," Elias countered smoothly. "The document is notarized."
"The notary listed here is Richard Blackwood," Maya interjected, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. "A man who was disbarred and convicted of fraud. This document is a fiction, Elias. And you are playing a very dangerous game."
