Chapter 15: The Unseen Threat
Chapter 15: The Unseen Threat
The headquarters of the Leviathan Foundation occupied a sleek, modern building overlooking the Manhattan skyline, a stark contrast to the decaying opulence of the old Vance estate. Inside the executive conference room, a team of cybersecurity experts and NCIS financial investigators were projecting a complex web of data onto the smart board.
Special Agent David Vance stood up, tapping a digital pointer against the screen, illuminating a series of interconnected offshore shell companies.
"We thought we caught every tentacle when we seized the Cayman accounts and Richard Sterling's portfolio," David explained, his expression grim. "But three days ago, our automated asset-tracking protocols flagged an anomalous micro-transfer originating from a dormant subsidiary registered in Panama under a dummy corporation."
I crossed my arms, leaning against the edge of the conference table. "Who owns the dummy corporation?"
"That's the interesting part," David said, switching to a new slide showing a corporate registration document. "It's tied to a trust fund that was secretly established six months before the Leviathan disaster. The primary beneficiary isn't Harrison, and it isn't Victoria or Julian. It's set up under an alias, but the structural signature matches corporate legal work handled by Thomas Sterling—Richard’s uncle."
A cold spike of adrenaline shot through my chest. Thomas Sterling had slithered away during the initial board purge, hiding behind a wall of corporate deniability while his nephew took the fall in the Caymans.
"He's trying to rebuild," I said quietly, the pieces clicking together in my mind. "Thomas is using hidden liquidity from the old subsidiary to buy up distressed maritime supply contracts under the table. If he succeeds, he'll control the very same substandard steel distribution network that caused the engine room fire."
"Not on our watch," David said firmly. "We have enough probable cause to issue an emergency freeze on the Panamanian trust, but we need an authorized signature from a primary board officer of the parent entity to legally dismantle the shell company permanently."
"Whose signature?" I asked.
"Yours, Captain," David replied, looking directly into my eyes. "As the legal successor to your mother's estate and the holder of controlling shares, you are the only one with the statutory authority to dissolve the parent entity once and for all."
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I nodded slowly, a cold, focused fire igniting in my veins. Thomas Sterling thought he could outsmart the system by hiding in the shadows of international corporate law. He had severely underestimated who he was dealing with.
"Draw up the dissolution papers, David," I ordered, my voice cutting through the room like a razor. "We're going to shut him down before he can even blink."
