Chapter 25
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Finding the true architects behind Elias Thorne’s consortium required a different kind of power. It required institutional memory, the kind of leverage that only decades of high-level social and political navigation could provide. Maya had the legal authority, but I had the historical map.
The next morning, I retreated to my private study and opened a leather-bound address book that had belonged to my late husband, Arthur. I bypassed the politicians and the wealthy elites, turning the pages until I found a specific name: Judge Harrison Vance. He was Julian’s estranged uncle, a man who had despised Julian’s corrupt methods and had quietly aided me during the initial grand jury investigations years ago.
I dialed his private number. He answered on the third ring, his voice gravelly with age but still sharp with intelligence.
"Eleanor," Harrison said, sounding genuinely surprised. "It has been years. I read about Maya’s independent consulting firm. She is doing brilliant work."
"She is," I replied, skipping the pleasantries. "Harrison, I need a favor. We are dealing with a ghost from Julian’s past. A man named Elias Thorne is claiming a massive, forged debt against the Blackwood estate. He represents an offshore consortium, and he is using intimidation tactics."
There was a heavy pause on the line.
"Elias Thorne is not a banker, Eleanor," Harrison finally sighed. "He is a cleaner. He works for the remnants of Richard Blackwood’s old legal syndicate. When Richard was disbarred and sent to prison, he couldn't take his hidden assets with him. He transferred the shadow ledgers to his associates in Geneva. They are using Thorne to collect on the old extortion contracts Julian signed when he was desperate."
The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity. Richard Blackwood, the corrupt lawyer who had helped orchestrate the abuse, was still trying to haunt us through his proxies.
"How do we break them, Harrison?" I asked, my grip tightening on the phone.
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"You expose the Geneva accounts," Harrison advised. "If you can prove to the international banking authorities that Thorne’s consortium is funded by Richard Blackwood’s criminal proceeds, their assets will be frozen globally. But you need proof of the original transfer."
"Thank you, Harrison," I said. "We will find it."
