Chapter 17 - The Wolves at the St. Regis
The penthouse lounge of the St. Regis Hotel gleamed with crystal chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling glass offering a panoramic view of the glittering city skyline. Velvet armchairs and polished brass tables filled the private corner suites, reserved only for the ultra-wealthy.
At 9:30 PM, Ryan and I sat at a dimly lit corner booth near the bar, dressed in formal evening wear. Across the room, Eleanor was sitting nervously at a low cocktail table, sipping club soda with trembling hands, an invisible wire tapped beneath the collar of her silk blouse.
"Audio check," Ryan murmured into his wristwatch.
"Loud and clear," Marcus Cole’s voice crackled through our earpieces from an unmarked surveillance van parked three floors below. "Two detectives from the Financial Crimes Unit are with me. We have federal warrants signed on Derek Vance for corporate espionage and wire fraud. The moment Paige hands over proprietary logistics contracts, we move."
"Maya," Ryan whispered, leaning closer so his shoulder brushed mine. "Are you ready for this?"
I looked down at my hands. They were perfectly steady. The lingering ghost of the sixteen-year-old girl who had been pushed into the pool, who had signed papers out of blind trust, who had taken insults with lowered eyes—she was gone.
"I've been ready for twenty years," I said.
At that moment, the double doors of the private VIP room swung open.
Paige strode in, looking every bit the ruthless social climber she had always aspired to be. She wore an emerald-green designer gown, diamond earrings that caught the light, and carried a sleek black leather briefcase. Her face was flushed with predatory triumph.
Walking beside her was Derek Vance. In his late sixties, with slicked-back gray hair, a trimmed goatee, and cold, reptilian eyes, Derek carried the aura of a man who smelled blood in the water.
"My dear niece," Derek chuckled as they approached a secluded leather booth across from Eleanor. "I must say, your initiative surprises me. Julian spent forty years guarding those distribution channels with his life. And you managed to pry them out of his vault within a week of his funeral."
"Grandfather underestimated me, Uncle Derek," Paige smiled, sitting down and sliding the briefcase onto the table. "He thought Maya had the stomach for this business. But Maya is weak. She’s a scared little girl who cries whenever her mascara runs. The board will collapse within forty-eight hours once you release these supplier leaks."
"And the Swiss documents?" Derek asked, tapping the table with a heavy gold signet ring. "The ones showing foreign assets under Maya's name?"
"Right here," Paige purred, clicking open the brass latches of the briefcase. She pulled out the yellowed 2004 establishment ledger and Grandfather’s private supplier directory. "With these, the SEC will freeze Maya’s personal assets by sunrise. While she’s tied up in depositions, your holding company can buy up the panicked public shares at pennies on the dollar."
Derek leaned back, letting out a low, satisfied laugh. "Brilliant. Truly ruthless. Your grandfather would have hated you, which is why I find you delightful." He reached into his coat and pulled out a certified bank draft. "Five million dollars, drawn on an offshore clearing house. Untraceable. Non-refundable."
Paige reached for the check, her eyes gleaming with manic greed.
"You always were remarkably cheap, Paige," a voice echoed through the lounge.
Paige froze.
The color drained from her face as I stood up from my booth, smoothing down the front of my midnight-blue dress, and walked slowly toward their table. Ryan followed right beside me, flanked by two plainclothes officers who had just stepped out from the hallway.
Derek Vance’s smile vanished instantly, his eyes narrowing into slits. "What is this?"
"Maya?" Paige shrieked, jumping to her feet, clutching the briefcase against her chest like a shield. "How did you get in here? Security! Get this bitch out of here!"
"Security isn't coming, Paige," Ryan said, pulling out a laminated badge from Marcus Cole’s legal team, while the officers displayed their gold federal shields. "State Police and Financial Crimes Task Force. Nobody moves."
Paige spun around in sheer panic, her eyes darting across the room until they landed on Eleanor, who was cowering behind a velvet curtain with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Mother?!" Paige gasped, realization crashing over her like a tidal wave. "You... you brought them here?!"
"You were going to abandon me, Paige!" Eleanor screamed back, her voice echoing off the glass walls. "You were going to take the five million and leave me with the debt collectors! You ruined this family!"
"Shut up! Shut up, you useless old cow!" Paige screamed, her composure shattering into raw, feral rage. She turned back toward me, her eyes wild, brandishing the ledger like a weapon. "It doesn't matter! You can't touch me, Maya! I have the Swiss documents! You’re the one going to prison! Look at this, officers! She committed forty million dollars in federal tax fraud!"
"Those documents were cleared five years ago by Julian Vance, Ms. Vance," a stern voice announced as Marcus Cole walked into the lounge, holding a certified court order. "The IRS closed that inquiry with full indemnity. What you are currently holding, however, is stolen corporate intellectual property, obtained via breaking and entering."
Derek Vance instantly shoved his chair back, putting his hands up. "I had nothing to do with any theft. This girl approached me claiming she had legal rights to the estate."
"Save it for your arraignment, Derek," the lead detective said, snapping a pair of steel handcuffs around Derek’s wrists. "We have the wiretap recording every word of your transaction."
Paige stared at the handcuffs, then at Derek, then at me. The reality of what she had done—the sheer, unmitigated finality of her defeat—slammed into her.
"No... no, no, this is a joke!" Paige stammered, backing away toward the glass terrace doors. Her voice took on that sickeningly familiar, high-pitched whine. "Maya! It was a joke! Just like the pool! I was just testing Derek to see if he was loyal to Grandfather’s company! You know I wouldn't betray you! Tell them, Maya! Tell them it was just a joke!"
I walked up to her until we were inches apart. I looked into the eyes of the sister who had spent my entire life trying to drown me, humiliate me, and destroy everything I loved.
"It was never a joke, Paige," I said, my voice ice-cold. "And neither is this."
May you like
The second detective stepped forward, grabbed Paige’s wrists, and clicked the cold steel cuffs into place behind her back.
***