Chapter 54 - THE GHOST IN THE LEDGER
The digital hunt consumed the next forty-eight hours. Hannah and Clara worked relentlessly, tracing the ghost ledger through a labyrinth of shell companies, fake tax IDs, and encrypted offshore proxies.
Whoever was siphoning the Sterling capital was brilliant. They were using localized, analog blind drops to mask the digital transfers, a tactic that required immense structural knowledge of the city's banking grid.
"They are operating locally," Hannah said, her eyes burning with exhaustion as she stared at the monitors. "The money is being funneled into a series of real estate holding companies based in the South Side. But the companies don't exist. They are phantom properties."
Clara leaned over Hannah’s shoulder, her strategic mind analyzing the data. "If they are phantom properties, they need a physical address to register the LLCs. Pull the property deeds for the last three transfers."
Hannah executed the search. The federal registry database flashed on the screen, displaying the public records for the three commercial properties.
Hannah’s breath hitched in her throat. The blood completely drained from her face.
"What is it?" Clara demanded, instantly sensing the catastrophic shift in Hannah’s demeanor.
Hannah pointed a trembling finger at the screen.
The physical address registered to the phantom holding companies was not a warehouse or an abandoned factory.
It was an architectural design studio.
*Vale Access Design.*
"Caleb," Hannah whispered, a sheer, unadulterated horror paralyzing her vocal cords. "Caleb is siphoning the money."
Clara’s eyes hardened into dark, obsidian slits. "Your brother is trying to steal the Sterling empire from under us."
"No," Hannah shook her head frantically. "No, Caleb wouldn't do this. He hates the syndicate. He hates the money. He wouldn't try to become a crime boss!"
"He is Dominic Vale’s son," Clara stated ruthlessly, the pragmatic reality overriding any sentimentality. "His mother was murdered by this syndicate. His fiancé turned out to be his sister. Trauma changes people, Hannah. It breaks them, or it turns them into monsters. If Caleb is using his architectural knowledge to hide the capital, he is building his own shadow network."
Hannah stared at the screen, her heart breaking into a million jagged pieces. She had walked into the dark to protect him. And now, the evidence suggested he was walking into the dark to destroy her.
"I have to see him," Hannah said, standing up abruptly.
May you like
"You can't go alone," Clara warned, her hand resting on her concealed weapon. "If he is building a network, he will have security."
"He won't hurt me, Clara," Hannah said, her voice shaking but resolute. "He is my blood."
