Chapter 729
Chapter 729:
He started to lift his head. She leaned down.
Knock. Knock.
Skye rapped her knuckles against the metal server rack.
“I hate to interrupt the romance novel,” Skye said, leaning against the shelf with her arms crossed, “but this is a secure facility, not a honeymoon suite p>
Harper shrieked and scrambled off Felix as if he were on fire. Felix sat up so fast he banged his head on the shelf above him.
“Skye! Ms. Sterling!” Harper gasped, frantically smoothing her skirt. “We were just… the drive fell… and he caught me… and p>
“I see what happened,” Skye said, fighting a smile. It was the first time she had felt like smiling in days. “Did the decryption finish p>
Felix adjusted his tie, looking everywhere but at Skye. “Uh, yes. Well, maybe. It’s on the screen p>
He pointed to the terminal they had been monitoring.
Skye walked over and picked up a printout. It was an invoice from “Blue Horizon Medical Supply,” approved by Arthur Sterling.
“Good work,” Skye said. “This proves Arthur authorized the payments to the clinic p>
She looked at the two of them. Harper was blushing so hard she looked like a tomato. Felix looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.
“Clean this up,” Skye said, turning to leave. “And next time, lock the door p>
She walked toward the elevator.
“Wait, Skye!” Harper called out.
Skye turned back.
“We found something else,” Harper said, her voice serious now. “Buried in the metadata. There’s a link to a private offshore account p>
“Whose account?” Skye asked, her hand hovering over the elevator call button.
“It’s an escrow account managed by Blue Horizon,” Felix said, walking over with a second sheet of paper. “But look at the beneficiary code. ‘JV-Treatment-Fund.’ And the payments were authorized by Arthur p>
𝖸о𝗎𝘳 𝘥і𝗀𝘪𝘵𝖺𝗅 𝗹𝗂𝖻r𝘢𝗿𝘆 𝗈𝘯 b𝖾.𝖼о𝗆
Skye took the paper, her eyes scanning the lines. “JV? Julian Vance p>
“It looks like Arthur was paying for Julian’s medical treatments,” Felix explained quietly. “Massive sums. Fifty thousand a month, funneled directly to Celeste Cain’s shell company p>
Skye felt the ground shift beneath her feet.
“Arthur wasn’t paying Julian,” she realized, cold dread settling in her stomach. “He was paying Celeste to keep Julian dependent. It wasn’t a salary. It was a subscription fee for his paralysis p>
She crumpled the paper in her fist.
“Bring the files to my office,” Skye ordered, her voice cold. “Now p>
As the elevator ascended, Skye closed her eyes. Julian had warned her about Celeste. But he hadn’t told her Arthur was the one holding the leash.
Was Julian a victim, or had he made a deal with the devil to stop the pain?
The web was getting stickier. And Skye was starting to wonder if there was anyone left in this city she could actually trust.
The morning sun reflected off the line of black Maybachs parked in front of Kensington Tower, creating a blinding glare that made the security guards squint. It looked like a funeral procession for a head of state, or an invasion.