Chapter 7 - The Midnight Visitor
I shoved the phone beneath my hospital pillow just as the heavy door swung wide.
Julian Vance stood in the doorway. The sharp navy suit was still immaculate, but his hair was slightly disheveled, and the polite, professional warmth he usually projected had vanished entirely, replaced by a cold, calculating mask.
"Miranda," Julian said smoothly, stepping into the room and closing the door softly behind him. "I thought you'd be asleep by now. The nurses said you had quite a bit of late-night family drama."
I kept my body rigid, resting my uninjured hand near the call button on the bed rail. "How did you know about the family drama, Julian? You left an hour ago."
Julian let out a quiet, humorless chuckle, walking slowly toward the foot of my bed. He didn't sit down. Instead, he rested his hands on the metal frame, his dark eyes locking onto mine with chilling familiarity.
"The hospital walls are thin, Miranda. And security guards talk," Julian said smoothly. He tilted his head, studying me with an unsettling clinical detachment. "Besides, I wanted to check on how you're holding up after emptying your entire domestic estate. That was a very... aggressive move tonight."
"It was my estate to empty," I replied, my voice hard and steady despite the ice running through my veins.
"Of course it was," Julian agreed softly, taking another slow step closer to the bed. "Just like the Cayman Holdings trust. Just like the international accounts. You've always been so brilliantly ruthless when dealing with people who betray you, Miranda. It's a wonderful trait in a CEO. A bit exhausting in a client, though."
My eyes narrowed. I didn't blink. "What are you talking about, Julian?"
Julian sighed, reaching into his interior jacket pocket and pulling out a sleek silver tablet. He tapped the screen twice and turned it toward me.
Displayed on the screen was the exact Cayman Holdings portal page I had just looked at—except now, a red biometric verification banner flashed across the top: AUTHORIZATION TRANSFER COMPLETE.
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"Marcus sends his regards, by the way," Julian said, a faint, cruel smile touching his lips. "He’s been setting up shell companies in the British Virgin Islands all week, waiting for the exact moment you legally severed ties with your parents. You see, as long as your family was listed as primary beneficiaries, our secondary restructuring clause couldn't be triggered without a probate contest. But the second you cleared the board... you handed us the keys to the kingdom."
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