Chapter 17 - The Shadow of Geneva
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The voice on line four belonged to Minister Henri Laurent—head of the Swiss International Financial Oversight Committee.
"Ms. Vance," Minister Laurent said in a low, heavily accented voice. "Forgive the late hour, but we have a matter of extreme sensitivity regarding your father’s estate."
"Speak freely, Minister," I said, reclining slightly in my leather chair.
"Four hours ago, during a routine audit of dormant Swiss accounts from the 1990s, our system flagged a primary vault registered under the code name PROJECT DAWN," Laurent explained. "The account holds fifty-two billion dollars in liquid gold reserves and sovereign bonds."
Marcus watched my face carefully, but my expression remained cool and unreadable.
"And who is listed as the sole beneficiary?" I asked quietly.
"You are, Ms. Vance," Laurent replied. "However... there is a conditional codicil attached to the trust release."
"What condition?"
"The release requires the joint biometric signature of yourself... and your father’s second child."
The room went completely still.
I held the phone against my ear, the soft crackle of the fireplace the only sound in the room.
My father had always told me I was an only child. My mother had passed away when I was three years old, leaving me as the sole heir to the Vance legacy.
May you like
"Minister Laurent," I said, my voice dropping an octave into pure ice. "My father did not have a second child."
"According to the DNA registry submitted to our Geneva vault thirty years ago, he did," Laurent answered firmly. "A younger sister. Currently living under an assumed identity somewhere in North America."
