Chapter 5 - The Unseen Ledger
The lockdown protocol took effect with terrifying efficiency. Within twenty minutes, corporate security teams had sealed the perimeter of the Fifth Avenue flagship, locking the glass doors against a growing crowd of paparazzi and onlookers drawn by the sudden police presence outside.
Victoria had already fled, sobbing hysterically as she shoved past the security guards, her designer heels clicking frantically against the pavement. Julian remained standing near the display case, refusing to leave despite the quiet warnings of the building’s security detail, his eyes locked onto me with a cold, simmering malice.
Gabriel stood beside me near the private consultation suite, reviewing the updated forensic ledger on the tablet.
“The asset recovery protocol is underway, Ms. Bennett,” Gabriel said quietly, keeping his voice low so only I could hear. “Our legal team in London has already initiated the freeze on Julian’s commercial development accounts. But there’s an anomaly in Section Six of the audit that hasn't cleared yet.”
I turned my head, my brow furrowing. “What kind of anomaly?”
Gabriel tapped the screen, bringing up a complex web of financial transfers tied to an overseas entity I didn't recognize.
“The off-book inventory didn't just go to Victoria’s local boutique,” Gabriel said, his expression turning grave. “Nearly forty percent of the high-end couture write-offs over the last eighteen months were redirected through a third-party holding company registered in Geneva. And the primary beneficiary listed on that foreign account isn't Julian Vance.”
My heart skipped a beat. I leaned in closer to the tablet, reading the encrypted corporate name attached to the Swiss account.
It wasn't Julian’s name. It wasn't Gregory’s, and it wasn't Victoria’s.
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It belonged to the Bennett Family Office’s primary European trust—the very same trust that my father had supposedly transferred entirely to my control three years ago.
Gabriel looked up at me, his eyes filled with a sudden, unsettling realization. “Olivia... someone inside your own family’s executive circle has been actively signing off on Julian’s operations from the London end. You didn't just uncover a local embezzlement ring. You walked right into an internal coup.”
