Chapter 6: Whispers in the Dark
Chapter 6: Whispers in the Dark
The initial custody hearing was a war zone. Vance argued that Evelyn was financially unstable, homeless, and violent, using the gala video as prime evidence. Though Maya managed to prevent Julian from taking immediate full custody, the judge granted Julian temporary weekend visitation rights under supervision.
When Julian picked up Lily for her first mandatory weekend visit, Evelyn felt as though her heart was being pulled directly out of her chest.
"I'll be back on Sunday, Mommy," Lily had whimpered, clutching her bear.
"I know, baby. Mommy is fighting for you every second," Evelyn swore, kissing her forehead.
With 48 hours while Lily was away, Evelyn went on the offensive. She met secretly in a secluded diner with Marcus Croft, a former chief CFO of the Sterling Group who had been quietly fired two years prior after raising red flags about illegal offshore transfers.
"Julian is ruthless, Evelyn," Marcus warned, sliding a manila folder across the table. "He doesn't just hide money. He uses shell corporations in New Cayman to fund illegal political bribes and cover up human resources scandals. If this gets out, his entire board will dump him."
"Does he have paper trails?" Evelyn asked, leaning in.
"He did. But he locked the master files in his private safe inside the Sterling Tower executive penthouse," Marcus replied. "It's guarded by facial recognition and top-tier security."
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Evelyn stared at the folder. She knew that layout. She had helped design the interior space during their first year of marriage.
"Then I'm going back into the tower," Evelyn said coldly.
