PART 14 — THE PAPER TRAIL
PART 14 — THE PAPER TRAIL
I made a phone call. Just one. To a former logistics officer who now worked at the IRS. “Victoria,” he said. “You don’t call just to say hello.” “I need a favor, Marcus.” I gave him the name of the law firm. Within forty-eight hours, the file was sitting on my kitchen counter. The shell company led to a holding trust in Delaware. The trust was managed by an offshore account. And the signature on the authorization form? Brandon Prescott. Ethan’s older brother. The one who had smirked at me in the hospital room. The one who was supposedly "under investigation" but had quietly slithered out of the federal net using his family’s remaining political favors. He was acting as his mother’s sword. A coward hiding behind paperwork. I showed the file to Emily. She traced Brandon’s signature with her index finger. “They can’t stand that we are breathing the same air as them,” she said softly. “People who are used to absolute power cannot tolerate defiance,” I replied. “So, how do we stop the lawsuit?” I tapped the file. “We don’t stop the lawsuit. We destroy the foundation it’s built on.” Brandon had been sloppy. In his rush to destroy Emily’s center, he had illegally commingled funds from a frozen Prescott corporate account. A federal crime. But I didn’t just want to hand it over to the police. I wanted them to know who pulled the trigger. I put on my coat. “Where are you going?” Emily asked. “To remind Brandon Prescott that military titles aren’t the only things he should fear.”
