Chapter 8 - THE EMPTY VAULT
Check the vault.
The words echoed in my head as I sat in the back of the police cruiser, wrapped in a foil blanket.
Why would Caroline say that? She was going to prison for the rest of her life. Vanessa was in custody. The nightmare was over.
But I couldn't shake the sick feeling in my stomach.
I looked at Richard, who was sitting on the bumper of the ambulance while a paramedic bandaged his burned hand.
I threw the blanket off and walked over to him.
“Mr. Sterling,” I interrupted. “Where do you keep your most important documents? The offshore account numbers, the real estate deeds?”
Richard looked confused. “In the private vault under my penthouse. Only Vanessa and I have the biometric access codes.”
“Call your security team,” I urged, the panic rising in my chest. “Check the vault right now.”
Richard frowned, but he saw the urgency in my eyes. He pulled out his phone and dialed his head of security.
“Marcus, it’s Richard. Go into my office, bypass the primary lock, and check the main floor vault. Tell me what’s inside.”
We waited in agonizing silence. The rain continued to pour, washing the ash and mud from the ruined property.
A minute later, Richard’s phone speaker crackled.
“Mr. Sterling... the vault is empty.”
Richard went pale. “What do you mean, empty?”
“Everything is gone, sir. The bearer bonds, the deed transfers, the USB drives with the offshore routing numbers. It’s completely cleaned out.”
“Vanessa,” Elizabeth gasped. “She moved the money before we even got to the restaurant.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Vanessa was at the restaurant all night. And Caroline has been out here, waiting to ambush us.”
I looked at the silver watch in my hand. The watch Vanessa had used to taunt Richard.
“Who else had access?” I asked.
Richard looked completely lost. “No one. Just me and Vanessa. And Dr. Whitmore knew about the accounts, but he doesn't have the codes.”
“Wait,” Leo spoke up, his voice raspy from crying. He pulled the thermal blanket tighter around his shoulders. “When I was in the back of the restaurant, right before I got grabbed... I saw someone in the alley.”
“Who, Leo?” Elizabeth asked gently.
“It was a man in a grey suit,” Leo said. “He handed Caroline a black duffel bag. I remember because he was wearing a very distinct ring. A gold signet ring with a hawk on it.”
Richard’s blood ran cold.
“My lawyer,” Richard whispered. “David Vance. He wears my grandfather’s fraternity ring. A gold hawk.”
The pieces violently slammed into place.
Vanessa and Caroline were the muscle and the cruelty. But they weren't smart enough to orchestrate a multi-billion dollar asset transfer on their own. They needed someone on the inside. Someone who understood Richard's empire intimately.
“Vance drew up Vanessa’s prenuptial agreement,” Richard realized, his voice trembling with rage. “He’s the one who pushed me to give her access to the offshore accounts. He’s been helping her drain my empire for four years.”
I looked at the time on my phone. 2:15 AM.
“If he has the bearer bonds and the routing numbers,” I said, “he’s not staying in Chicago. He’s going to run.”
“Where?” Elizabeth asked.
“O'Hare International,” Richard said, his eyes narrowing. “My private jet is fueled and on standby. Vanessa requested it this morning, claiming she wanted to go to Paris for the weekend. They were planning to kill us all tonight and fly out with everything.”
Richard turned to the lead detective.
“Detective, lock down O'Hare. Hangar 4. If David Vance gets on that plane, he disappears with two billion dollars, and Vanessa’s legal defense gets funded forever.”
The detective grabbed his radio. “All units, we have a code three at O'Hare private hangars. Suspect is David Vance, armed and fleeing.”
“Get in the car,” Richard said to me, Elizabeth, and Leo.
May you like
We didn’t wait for the police. Richard ignored his burned hand, threw the Range Rover into drive, and tore back down the muddy road, heading straight for the airport.
The final confrontation wasn't going to be in a dark cellar. It was going to be on the tarmac.
