Chapter 3: The Financial Trail
The hospital room was quiet, save for the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor. Lily slept peacefully for the first time in years, her small hand wrapped tightly around Arthur’s index finger. The doctors had confirmed severe malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and signs of prolonged confinement in dark, unheated spaces.
Arthur sat by the bed, his laptop open. He wasn't just a father seeking revenge; he was a man with resources, ready to go to war. He hired Marcus Vance, one of the most ruthless forensic accountants in New York City.
"Arthur, the numbers are sickening," Marcus said through the phone speaker. "I’ve tracked the wire transfers. Every time you sent the ten grand, it hit a trust account in Lily's name. But within twenty-four hours, Victoria was siphoning it out into an LLC registered in Delaware."
"What did she buy with it?" Arthur asked, his voice low.
"Everything," Marcus replied. "Designer clothes. Catering for her charity galas. She even used your daughter's food money to pay the monthly insurance premium on that diamond necklace she was wearing tonight."
Arthur’s grip on the armrest tightened until his knuckles turned white. While he had been freezing on a rig in the North Sea, risking his life daily, his aunt had been using his daughter’s survival money to fund a fake billionaire lifestyle.
"She didn't just steal money, Marcus. She stole Lily's childhood. She kept her locked in a basement so the high-society friends wouldn't see the 'burden' she had taken on."
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"I’m sending the complete financial dossier to the District Attorney," Marcus promised. "But be careful, Arthur. Victoria is wealthy, connected, and cornered. She’s going to fight back dirty."
Arthur looked at his sleeping daughter, brushing a clean, soft blonde curl from her forehead. "Let her try."
