Chapter 12 - The Midnight Inquiry
That evening, after tucking Lily into bed and setting the nursery’s silent alarm, I retreated to my study on the second floor. The rain was beginning to drum softly against the tall bay windows, blurring the lights of the distant city into shimmering streaks of gold. On my mahogany desk lay the brass key and the parchment coordinates I had found hidden in the handbag.
I dialed David Cole, my trusted personal attorney who had helped dismantle Victoria’s fraudulent documents during the winter trials. He answered on the third ring, his voice raspy from exhaustion.
"Julian? It’s past eleven. Did something happen with the Sterling appeal?" David asked immediately, sensing the urgency in my silence.
"No, the appeals are dead in the water," I replied quietly, turning the antique key over under the warm glow of the desk lamp. "David, did Sarah’s father ever maintain foreign holdings prior to the bankruptcy seven years ago? Specifically in Switzerland?"
A long, uneasy pause stretched over the receiver. When David finally spoke, the fatigue in his voice had vanished, replaced by sharp caution. "Julian, Charles Sterling had numerous accounts, but all of them were liquidated to settle the creditors during the probate hearings. If there was a Swiss vault, it was never declared on any public registry. Where did you hear about Zurich?"
"Sarah left a key," I said bluntly. "Stitched between the reinforced leather plates of the floral handbag. Along with a note warning me not to trust the family registry."
"Good Lord," David muttered under his breath. "Listen to me carefully, Julian. The Sterling family wasn't just a corporate dynasty; Charles belonged to an older generation of industrialists who used private Swiss syndicates to safeguard bloodline assets. If Sarah hid a key specifically tied to a debt, it means Richard and Victoria weren't working alone. They were likely sent to retrieve what Charles hid before he died."
"Retrieve it for whom?"
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"That’s what terrifies me," David said grimly. "If someone else holds that debt, they won't stop just because Victoria is in a state penitentiary. Guard Lily with your life, Julian. I’ll run an off-the-books check on those coordinates first thing in the morning."
As I ended the call, the manor lights flickered once, then plunged into darkness. Outside, the dog barked sharply once, then went dead silent.
