Chapter 17 - Shadows of the PastA quiet year had passed since the downfall of Eleanor Sterling. The newly reformed Vance-Sterling Global flourished under Clara and Ethan's combined leadership, becoming a beacon of corporate ethics and innovation.
However, peace in high society is rarely permanent.
On a cold rainy afternoon in November, Ethan received a high-security envelope delivered directly to his private office desk. It contained no return address, only a red wax seal carrying an emblem he hadn't seen in over a year—the inverted crest of Apex Financial.
Ethan broke the seal with a pocket knife. Inside was a single high-resolution photograph.
It was a picture of Eleanor Sterling sitting inside a maximum-security prison cell in upstate New York. But what caught Ethan's breath was the handwritten message on the back written in fresh black ink:
The matriarch was merely the pawn, Ethan. The King is coming to collect his debt.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He immediately picked up his phone and called Marcus.
"Marcus, we have a problem," Ethan said quietly.
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"What is it?" Marcus asked, hearing the sudden tension in Ethan's tone.
"Apex wasn't Eleanor’s partner," Ethan revealed, looking out at the rain washing down his window pane. "Eleanor was working for someone higher up the chain. And whoever they are... they just sent a warning."
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