Chapter 16 - the sealed archive
The quiet evening at the penthouse was everything they had fought for. Soft jazz drifted from the vintage sound system, and a warm summer breeze carried the scent of lake water onto the high-rise balcony. Clara sat across from Roman, sipping vintage red wine while city traffic pulsed like rivers of gold hundreds of feet below.
"What will happen to Julian’s remaining family estates?" Clara asked, setting her glass onto the glass table.
"The federal court is appointing an independent receiver next week," Roman replied smoothly, cutting a slice of artisan cheese. "Most of the historic properties will be auctioned off to satisfy creditor claims. But one property was excluded from the federal seizure."
Clara tilted her head with curiosity. "Which one?"
"The old Sterling manor in Lake Forest," Roman said, his expression turning slightly thoughtful. "Because it was registered under a private trust that pre-dates Gregory Vance's criminal indictment, the state cannot touch it. The trust documents listed only two beneficiaries: Julian Sterling... and an anonymous secondary trustee whose identity has been locked behind an encrypted Swiss blind trust since 1998."
A strange chill ran down Clara's spine, breaking through the warm ambient evening. "Why would Julian's father create an anonymous blind trust thirty years ago? Did Julian ever mention a sibling?"
"Never," Roman answered firmly. "Julian was an only child. His mother died giving birth to him in Zurich. My father investigated every branch of that family tree before the syndicate fell apart. There was nobody else."
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"Then who is collecting the maintenance fees on the manor?" Clara asked, her sharp analytical instincts instantly reactivating. "A historic estate in Lake Forest requires hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in property taxes and structural preservation. If Julian’s accounts were frozen yesterday, the trust should have defaulted."
Roman reached into his inner pocket, withdrawing a single white sheet of paper that had been couriered to his private attorney an hour before he arrived at her office. "That's why I brought this," he said, handing it to her across the table. "The property taxes on the Lake Forest manor were paid in full this afternoon. Paid in cash, delivered by an unknown private courier to the county clerk's office."
