Chapter 5 - The Contents of Treason
Arthur did not waste another second, his wet boat shoes tearing through the soft quartz sand as he sprinted toward the sea-grape bushes.
He dropped to one knee before the black designer backpack, his wet clothes dripping steady rivulets of seawater onto the pristine white ground.
With a violent pull, he ripped the heavy metal zipper open, the teeth tearing apart under the raw force of his clenched fingers.
Inside lay a thick, moisture-sealed leatherette binder stamped with the official insignia of the Cayman Islands Land Registry and Maritime Trust.
Arthur grabbed the binder and flipped it open, the heavy bond parchment rustling against his soaked, trembling fingers.
The very first page was an Irrevocable Deed of Absolute Conveyance for the entirety of Vance Cay, including all mineral rights, docks, and residential structures.
The designated transferee was not Chloe Vance, nor was it any legitimate trust established by Eleanor before her untimely death.
The sole recipient of the transfer was a blind offshore shell company registered in Panama under the singular ownership of Victoria Sterling Vance.
Arthur’s blue eyes narrowed to predatory slits as his gaze dropped to the bottom of the deed where the transferor’s authorization required his legal consent.
There, inked in dark blue fountain-pen ink, was an exact duplicate of his own signature, slanted with the distinctive flourish he had used for thirty years.
Beside it sat a forged signature representing Chloe’s formal surrender of her maternal inheritance rights in exchange for zero financial consideration.
Arthur’s hands began to shake, not from fear, but from a towering, blinding fury that felt as hot as molten lead coursing through his veins.
Every smile, every sweet word, every kiss Victoria had offered him over the past three years had been nothing more than an elaborate, predatory ambush.
She had married him to study his strokes, to access his private legal documents, and to wait patiently until Chloe reached the age of inheritance transfer.
And when Chloe had evidently stumbled upon the binder inside the stateroom earlier this afternoon, Victoria had decided to murder her before the ink could dry.
"She tried to drown my child for an island," Arthur whispered to the empty beach, his voice deadly quiet and terrifying in its absolute clarity.
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Beside the binder in the outer pouch of the backpack, Arthur's fingers hit a cold piece of plastic and steel: his personal encrypted satellite security radio.
The stepmother had even stolen his personal communication device to ensure no orders could be relayed to the marina control tower before her getaway.
