Maya let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. “Your father trusted Victor blindly. And the last guy who tried to show your father the real books? His name was Darius. He was the CFO. He was practically a son to your dad. Victor framed him for embezzlement, ruined his marriage, and blacklisted him from the industry. If I spoke up, Victor would have destroyed my family, too.”
She slid the encrypted drive across the desk. “But you’re the CEO now. If you want the truth, it’s all in there. Just know... once you open that, Victor won't just try to get you fired. He’ll try to put you in the ground.”
Marcus looked at the small metal drive. The true war hadn't even started yet.
By Thursday, the atmosphere at Vanguard was toxic. The files Maya provided were damning, but they were just pieces of a puzzle. Victor had been siphoning millions from the company’s pension fund into dummy corporations, using the money to buy up cheap real estate under his wife’s maiden name.
But Victor was not a stupid man. He knew Marcus was closing in.
That afternoon, Marcus returned from a site visit to find a heavy, unmarked manila envelope sitting perfectly centered on his desk. No return address. No stamps.
He tore it open. Inside were photographs.
Not of him. Of his ex-wife and his twelve-year-old daughter, taken from across the street of their suburban home in Connecticut. The time stamps were from yesterday.
Marcus’s blood ran cold. He slammed his fist onto the desk, the heavy oak shuddering under the impact. He had kept his family completely separated from the Vance legacy to protect them from exactly this kind of poison.
His office phone rang. It was an internal extension.
“Marcus,” Victor’s smooth, patronizing voice came through the speaker. “I hear you’re looking into the 2023 pension restructuring. Complex stuff. It can be quite a headache. You know, running a family business takes a toll. It distracts you from what really matters. Family. I’d hate for your attention to be... divided.”
Marcus gripped the edge of the desk. “If anyone even breathes near my daughter, Victor, I will strip you of everything you own and leave you to rot in a federal cell.”
Victor chuckled. “Big words from a man who doesn’t even have the board on his side. Check your email, nephew. You’re not the only one who can call a surprise meeting.”