Chapter 21
CHAPTER 22: The Shadow of Apex Holdings
I unlatched the chain and let Clara inside. Sarah immediately brought her a warm cup of tea, guiding her to the living room sofa. Clara’s hands shook so violently that the ceramic cup clicked against her ring, a sound that brought back haunting memories of her father sitting at our kitchen table six months prior.
"The police told us your father was a missing person," I said, sitting opposite her. "Agent Miller’s team searched Eleanor’s properties. They found her servers, but there was no sign of Arthur."
"Because they didn't look in the right place," Clara said, opening her satchel and pulling out a series of old, physical blueprints. "Eleanor didn't act alone. She was the face of the operation, but Apex Holdings wasn't just a shell company. It was a joint venture with a offshore syndicate known as the Vanguard Group. They control the dark money networks in Eastern Europe."
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She laid out a blueprint of an abandoned textile mill on the outskirts of the state line.
"My father didn't just back up the financial ledgers on that USB drive, Julian," Clara said, looking directly into my eyes. "He hid a physical key inside Eleanor’s private vault at the Oakwood Country Club. A key to a security deposit box containing the real identities of the Vanguard board members. Eleanor knew it. That’s why she was so desperate to block you at the wedding. She wasn't just hiding her own theft—she was protecting the people who own her."
