Chapter 9 - The Skeletons in the Vault
Alistair pressed another button on his encrypted console.
The stock tickers on the massive ballroom screens vanished, replaced by high-resolution digital scans of police files, autopsy reports, and offshore wire transfers dating back seven years.
The room erupted into shocked whispers once more.
Dominic’s older brother, Julian Thorne, had supposedly died in a tragic single-vehicle accident seven years ago.
Julian had been the true visionary of the family, a brilliant engineer who held the original patents for the aerospace propulsion system Dominic claimed to have invented.
Julian’s death was the exact tragedy that allowed Dominic to assume absolute control of the family empire.
On the giant screens, an encrypted Swiss bank ledger illuminated the dark room.
A transfer of five million dollars was routed from Dominic’s personal offshore account to an unlisted shell company in Eastern Europe exactly three days before Julian’s car brakes mysteriously failed on the Taconic State Parkway.
Beside the bank transfer was a decoded audio file, intercepted by Sterling Intelligence three years ago and held in escrow for this very night.
Dominic’s recorded voice echoed through the high-definition speakers of the ballroom:
“The mechanic confirmed the brake lines are rigged. Make sure the body is burned beyond recognition so the toxicology report doesn't flag the sedatives we put in his scotch.”
Dominic looked up at the screen, his face turning an ash-gray shade of pure terror.
“How… where did you get that?!” Dominic choked, blood trickling from his bitten lip.
“Julian was your brother, Dominic,” I said, looking down at him with unfiltered disgust.
“He was also my closest mentor at Oxford before you ever entered my life.”
“I spent six years gathering every shred of forensic proof to ensure that when you fell, you would never see the light of day again.”
Beatrice stared at the screen, clutching her chest as her breathing became shallow and ragged.
“Dominic… what did you do…?” Beatrice wheezed, looking at her beloved son as if seeing a demon for the first time.
“You told me it was an accident!”
Dominic didn't answer his mother.
He looked around the room, desperately seeking an ally, but every CEO, senator, and socialite who had toasted him twenty minutes ago turned their backs in horror.
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He was no longer a rising titan.
He was a fratricidal monster exposed before the entire ruling class of the nation.
