Chapter 43 - Darkening Skies
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Julian backed away, his hands shaking violently as Higgins pulled the desk drawer completely open.
Inside lay an encrypted satellite phone and three thick envelopes stuffed with unrecorded bearer bonds—each worth fifty thousand dollars.
Clara gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "Julian... you?"
"They paid me three hundred thousand dollars!" Julian burst out, tears of panic welling in his eyes. "Arthur's lawyers said no one would get hurt! They just wanted the location of your safehouses and the medical records!"
"You traitor!" Clara yelled, her professional composure breaking. "We trusted you with Evelyn's life!"
"Who else were you sending files to, Julian?" Chief Higgins demanded, grabbing the young assistant by his lapels. "Who else bought Arthur's documents?"
"I... I don't know!" Julian sobbed. "I just uploaded the PDF files to a secure server in Zurich! I was told to label the files under the project name CROWN!"
I stepped forward, looking at the encrypted satellite phone on the desk. "Project Crown? What is Project Crown?"
"I don't know!" Julian cried out as Higgins slapped handcuffs onto his wrists. "I swear I don't know! It was just an account name!"
Ten minutes later, Julian was led away in police custody.
I sat in Clara's office, looking out the large glass window at the San Diego skyline. A heavy thunderstorm was rolling in off the Pacific Ocean, dark clouds gathering over the city, illuminated by distant flashes of lightning.
"Arthur wasn't acting alone," I said softly, looking at Mr. Pendelton, who had just entered the room.
Pendelton’s face was unusually solemn. He walked over to the bar, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and drank it in one swift motion.
"Pendelton?" I asked, noticing his silence. "Do you know what Project Crown is?"
Pendelton set his glass down slowly, his fingers trembling slightly.
"I hoped I would never hear that name again," Pendelton whispered, staring at the dark storm outside. "Thirty years ago, before Arthur met your mother, he worked for a powerful offshore investment syndicate known as the Crown Group."
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"What kind of syndicate?" Clara asked.
"The kind that buys political influence, launders cartel money, and erases anyone who asks too many questions," Pendelton revealed. "And if Arthur was leaking Evelyn's trust files to them... it means Arthur wasn't trying to keep the money for himself. He was paying off a debt to someone far more dangerous."
