Chapter 9 - THE FATHER WHO WOULDN'T ANSWER
Victor Vale called me that evening.
I was sitting in the villa's library when my phone rang.
His name appeared on the screen.
For a moment, I considered ignoring it.
Then I answered.
"Elena."
His voice was warm.
Almost paternal.
"Victor."
"I heard about the unpleasantness on the yacht."
"Unpleasantness?"
He sighed.
"Cassandra behaved terribly."
"She assaulted me."
"I know."
I waited.
Then he continued.
"I hope you won't let a foolish mistake damage the relationship between our families."
I looked at my father's photograph.
"Which relationship?"
Silence.
Victor laughed softly.
"Elena, don't be difficult."
I felt my jaw tighten.
"Did you threaten my father?"
The line went quiet.
Then Victor said:
"What?"
"Did you threaten him twelve days before he died?"
A long pause.
"Where did you hear that?"
I didn't answer.
Victor's voice changed.
"Elena, your father was under enormous stress."
"That wasn't my question."
He sighed.
"You don't understand the business."
I looked at the archive report on my desk.
"I understand false invoices."
Silence.
"I understand stolen charity funds."
Victor's breathing changed.
"And I understand that Julian entered my father's safe without permission."
Victor spoke sharply.
"Stop."
I went still.
He continued.
"You're making accusations you cannot possibly prove."
I looked at the recording.
"Then you'll have no trouble answering investigators."
The line disconnected.
Twenty minutes later, Marianne received an urgent message.
Vale International had filed a legal claim alleging that Marlowe Maritime owed it hundreds of millions of euros.
The filing sought to freeze certain joint assets.
It was a calculated move.
Victor was trying to pressure me financially before the evidence became public.
But he'd underestimated one thing.
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I had spent the previous eleven months preparing for the possibility that my father's business partners would challenge my authority.
And I had no intention of surrendering.
