Chapter 4 - Who Is Mr. Vance?
The glass doors of the Vance Tower penthouse opened with a soft, pneumatic hiss.
I stepped onto imported marble that made the Sterling estate look like a suburban tract home. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the entire Manhattan skyline. A team of three pediatric nurses and two private physicians stood waiting in crisp white uniforms, bowing their heads respectfully as Marcus carried Lily into the master nursery suite.
"Get her warm. Run full genetic and toxicity panels," Marcus directed, his voice brooking no argument. "Ensure my granddaughter receives the finest care on this continent."
"Right away, Mr. Vance," the lead doctor replied, gently taking Lily into an incubator basket lined with cashmere.
I watched them carry my daughter away into the adjacent medical wing. For the first time in nine months, I didn't have to check the price tag on her formula or listen to Evelyn complain about the cost of pediatric visits.
Behind me, Victor stood holding an encrypted tablet.
"The board of Sterling Maritime has officially entered an emergency session, sir," Victor reported. "Julian Sterling has called six venture capital firms in the last thirty minutes. None took his call. We hold seventy-four percent of their outstanding debt notes."
"Who holds their corporate bonds?" I asked, turning around.
My father paused, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. A ghost of a proud smile touched his lips.
"We do, Clara," Marcus answered. "I bought their secondary obligations the day you told me you were moving in with him. I wanted insurance. Now, it is an executioner’s axe."
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"Don't just execute it, Papa," I said, my voice hardening. The timid girl who scrubbed Evelyn's grease traps was dead. "Let them squirm. Julian has an eight-million-dollar marker with the Morretti syndicate due at midnight. When the mob comes calling, he will look for me. He will try to use Lily's forged trust fund to save his skin."
"Then let him dig his own grave," Marcus said smoothly. "Victor, leak our coordinates to Julian's inner circle. Let him believe Clara is hiding in our secondary estate in Long Island. Let us see how far a cornered rat will run."
