Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Underworld
The apartment in Brooklyn was a stark contrast to the Sterling estate—small, cramped, and filled with the smell of old paper and stale coffee. Elena’s apartment was the base of operations. She had spent the last three hours pulling every digital thread she could find, but the Sterlings were ghosts in the machine.
“It’s clean, Avery,” Elena said, her eyes bloodshot from staring at the monitors. “Whoever set this up, they did it with state-level precision. The offshore accounts are layered through three different countries, and the hotel surveillance footage has been scrubbed. It’s like you never existed in their digital records.”
Avery paced the narrow room, her mind racing. “They couldn’t have done it alone. Even with their wealth, they needed someone on the inside, someone with access to our personal accounts and the authority to manipulate bank records.”
“Exactly,” Elena agreed, tapping a key. “I found a connection. A low-level accountant at Sterling Financial named Marcus Thorne. He was flagged for a suspicious withdrawal of ten thousand dollars two days before the gala. It’s not much, but it’s a crack in the armor.”
Avery stopped pacing, her eyes narrowing. “Marcus. I remember him. He was always hovering around Liam, constantly whispering in his ear during board meetings. He was one of the few people who had access to the master server.”
“I’m going to track him down,” Elena said, reaching for her coat. “If he’s the one who handled the money, he might know who authorized the hit.”
May you like
“No,” Avery said firmly. “I’m going. If he sees me, he might get nervous. Fear is a powerful tool, Elena. I need him to think that I’m not just a woman who was kicked to the curb, but a woman with nothing left to lose.”
Avery stepped out into the night, the cold air hitting her face. She felt a strange surge of power. For the first time in years, she wasn’t playing the role of the perfect wife. She was becoming something far more dangerous.
