Chapter 14 - THE BROKEN SEAL
Owen moved like lightning, disappearing into the gallery behind them before the sentence had fully cleared Julian's lips.
Within ten seconds, Owen’s voice came over Christian’s earpiece.
"The false bottom of the pendulum casing has been pried open, Christian," Owen whispered.
"There was a second cavity behind the weights."
"Whatever was inside is gone."
Arthur watched the shift in Christian’s eyes with triumphant calm.
"You see, Christian, Clara was never meant to bear a child," Arthur said, casually rotating the brass key between his fingers.
"That was merely the theatrical distraction to keep your eyes on her waistline while she retrieved what truly mattered."
"The original deed of partition for the Sterling holding company."
"The document your father hid when he dissolved the family partnership in 1982."
"That document invalidates every single asset transfer your firm has made for forty years."
"It means every skyscraper, every bond portfolio, every acre of this land belongs to the primary partnership."
"Which I currently control."
"You control nothing until that document is authenticated by forensic document examiners," Julian intervened again, stepping up beside Christian.
"And any document handled by Clara Rousseau has been contaminated by chain of custody violations."
Elena snapped her eyes toward the boy.
"A child should learn when to remain silent," she hissed.
"A child brought your sister down in front of sixty witnesses," Christian shot back, his voice booming across the portico.
"Now get off my property before I have private security remove you under the domestic trespass act."
Arthur did not flinch.
"We are leaving, Christian," Arthur said softly.
"We only came to deliver the courtesy notice in person."
"At noon today, our attorneys will file the partition action with the Southern District of New York."
"By three o'clock, every operating account Sterling Enterprises uses to pay its staff, its guards, and its fuel suppliers will be frozen pending review."
"You have four hours to decide whether you want to settle quietly, or watch this empire dismantled on Bloomberg television."
Arthur turned, his cane clicking against the wet stone as he walked toward the black Mercedes.
Elena Rousseau lingered for a heartbeat longer.
She looked at Christian, then down at Julian, her gaze heavy with venom.
"Clara sends her regards from the detention facility in White Plains," Elena murmured.
"She wanted you to know that the ultrasound audio wasn't entirely fake."
"There was a heartbeat on that tape, Christian."
"It just didn't belong to a baby."
Elena turned and stepped into the car.
The heavy doors slammed shut with a muffled thud.
The two sedans accelerated down the circular drive, their red taillights disappearing into the thick morning fog.
Christian turned to Owen, who had re-emerged in the foyer, holding an empty velvet-lined box retrieved from the grandfather clock.
"Owen, get our legal counsel on a secure line immediately," Christian said, his jaw locked tight.
"And call White Plains," Julian added quietly.
Christian stopped and looked at his son.
"Why White Plains?"
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"Because Elena didn't mention that heartbeat to taunt us," Julian said, his eyes dark with deduction.
"She mentioned it because Clara left a digital recording device inside the house that we haven't found yet."
