Novels by Iris Vane

CHAPTER 117: A FUTURE OF THEIR OWN PRISCILLA'S POV Eight months had passed since the court froze Sterling’s attempted transfers.The order did not end the fight overnight. It stopped Victor from moving the disputed harbor assets while investigators traced the money. Months of subpoenas, audits, and witness interviews strengthened the case. The primary phase of the federal investigation had concluded; several Sterling-linked holdings were under court-appointed receivership, while other disputed acquisitions remained before the courts. Victor faced criminal charges but had not been convicted.The Aethelgard network had been broken apart. Some people had agreed to cooperate, while others remained under investigation. The three-week gap in my father’s correspondence was still unexplained, but verified records and testimony established that Arthur had been manipulated and others had profited from his collapse.That morning, sunlight streamed through the windows of the restored Marlow hea

CHAPTER 116: THE TAKEOVER AND THE EVIDENCE Creighton's POV The licensing hearing had ended without a final ruling. The board requested additional documentation and left Marlow Holdings’ licenses active pending review. It was only a temporary reprieve, not a victory. Priscilla called as she left the administrative building.“They haven’t decided anything yet,” she said. “We have to keep operating, but Sterling can still make things difficult.”“He’s forcing an emergency board vote at two,” I told her.“On what grounds?”“Clause Fourteen. The six logistics companies holding our defaulted debts now have enough qualifying claims to demand a restructuring vote. Sterling acquired those debts and is using them to force the board to consider his offer.”“He wants to convert the debt into equity and take control.”“He’s offering eighty million dollars in debt relief and new capital. If we miss his six-month targets, his trust can liquidate our primary dock leases. His companies control much

CHAPTER 115: THE UNRAVELING LEAKPRISCILLA'S POVWe worked through the night as Grace and our legal team prepared our response to the licensing board, while Creighton’s analysts assessed the damage a suspension would cause.Sterling’s lawyers claimed irregularities in the historical transfer of the northern harbor permit called our current shipping authorizations into question. We had to show that Locker 402 exposed manipulated transactions, not deliberate wrongdoing by Marlow Holdings. Grace linked the altered Aethelgard loan schedules, intermediary accounts, and transfer of my father’s defaulted liabilities in a single timeline.At three in the morning, my door opened.Elena stood in the doorway, head bowed and eyes swollen from crying. I barely recognized the woman who had managed my appointments through Pree’s difficult periods.“Come in, Elena. Close the door.”She approached my desk, hands trembling. “I saw the filings for tomorrow’s hearing.”“Sit down.”Elena sank into the arm

CHAPTER 114: THE WOMAN WHO RETURNSPRISCILLA'S POV"Thyra has resurfaced."Detective Miller's heavy voice rasped through my speakerphone, cutting through the morning quiet of my inner office.I sat back slowly, setting down my pen as my chest tightened. "Resurfaced how? The last time we spoke, your team was executing a regional search warrant for her after Chloe's statement.""She didn't surrender at a precinct," Miller explained. "Her high-priced defense attorney called my office an hour ago. She's claiming she has a collection of private correspondence linking the old Aethelgard Consortium leadership directly to Julian Sterling's secondary acquisitions in 1996. She wants to cut a deal."A cold wave of hostility washed over me. Thyra had manipulated Chloe, weaponized my maiden name, and enabled the security breach that had nearly put my children in danger. Now, after everything she had done, she was offering evidence that could help bring down the very people whose methods she had he

CHAPTER 113: THE LETTER THAT COULD DESTROY MARLOWPRISCILLA'S POV"We have a situation on the morning networks," Bree said, pushing open the door to my inner office without knocking. Her voice was strained as she placed a tablet on my desk, her face drained of color. "Sterling Global's legal PR team held an unscheduled press briefing twenty minutes ago. They just dropped a bombshell."I leaned over the desk, my stomach sinking as the news broadcast appeared on the screen. A silver-haired spokesman for Sterling stood behind a podium, holding up a clear plastic sleeve containing a faded, yellowed piece of stationery."This newly surfaced historical document," the spokesman announced in a smooth, calculated voice, "is an original letter written by Arthur Marlow in October 1995. In it, Mr. Marlow explicitly describes his intention to use confidential industry intelligence to dismantle competing logistics firms, specifically targeting Evelyn Vance & Co. to force a hostile liquidation."My

CHAPTER 112: THE LEDGER OF BETRAYALPRISCILLA'S POV"If your sister kept a record of those altered debt transfers, it couldn't have simply disappeared," I said, leaning over the desk in Eleanor’s private drawing room as I examined the old bankruptcy filings Grace had brought.Eleanor sat rigidly in her armchair, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her face was pale beneath the soft lighting, and the certainty she had clung to for decades had finally begun to crumble."The liquidators took everything from her office on Fourth Street," Eleanor whispered, her voice lacking its usual sharpness. "Desks, filing cabinets, hard drives, personal stationery. The receivers worked quickly. By the time I arrived at her building two days after her death, the doors were already chained and padlocked."Creighton stood near the tall bay window, his dark coat still damp from the evening fog, his arms crossed over his chest."Marcus traced the original