Chapter 10 - The Duplicate Ledger
I caught the titanium drive out of the air, my thumb brushing the familiar brushed metal surface. I stared down at it, then back up at Vaughn’s impassive face.
"This... this is the real one?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"That is a heavily encrypted, quantum-locked duplicate that auto-syncs with a secure server in Zurich every four minutes," Vaughn corrected, offering a faint, knowing smirk. "The one Arthur’s cooperative guard stole from your wall safe was a dummy decoy loaded with expired tax returns and blank spreadsheet templates. Arthur just spent twenty years of planning to steal a collection of old grocery lists."
A wave of profound relief washed over me, instantly chased by a sharp, invigorating spike of adrenaline.
Agent Miller walked over, holding a tablet displaying Arthur’s biometric logs. "We’ve got him, Miss Hart. Arthur’s phone was actively syncing with a decentralized server in the Cayman Islands when we cuffed him. The cyber-crime unit is already mirroring his files. Between Arthur, Victoria, and Richard, the entire Bennett syndicate is officially cut off at the knees."
"Good," I said, sliding the real titanium drive securely into my inner jacket pocket. "Make sure they're held without bail. No special privileges, no high-society medical furloughs."
Miller nodded firmly. "Consider it done."
As the federal agents loaded Arthur into the back of the SUV and drove away, leaving the windy pier to silence once more, I turned to Vaughn.
"So," I said, crossing my arms against the river chill. "What happens now?"
"Now, Sophia, you finally take back what was yours," Vaughn replied, turning toward his own waiting car. "The corporate restructuring is complete. The New York assets are legally transferred under your sole, unencumbered name. The Bennett family doesn't just owe you money—they owe you their entire existence."
I looked back at the glittering Manhattan skyline rising majestically across the river. The towers looked different now—taller, brighter, and entirely mine.
May you like
"Let's go home, Vaughn," I said quietly.
For the first time in my life, the city didn't feel like a battlefield. It felt like a kingdom.
