Chapter 19 - THE SHADOW OF THE PAST
Back in the city, the federal detention center smelled of industrial disinfectant and stale fluorescent lighting.
Julian sat on the edge of his narrow steel cot, staring blankly at the graffiti-scratched concrete wall across from his cell.
His expensive burgundy suit had been replaced by standard prison blues that felt coarse and uncomfortable against his skin.
Footsteps echoed down the metal-grated hallway as a prison guard stopped outside his cell door with a clipboard.
"Sterling, you have an unannounced legal visitor in booth three," the guard announced bluntly, turning the key in the lock.
Julian dragged his feet sluggishly across the floor, his pride completely crushed into dust as he was led down the sterile corridor.
He sat down in the glass-partitioned visitor booth, picking up the heavy plastic telephone receiver with shaking fingers.
Sitting on the other side of the bulletproof glass was his former lawyer, holding a thick file of rejected appeal motions.
"It's over, Julian. The U.S. Attorney's office has ironclad proof of your offshore shell companies," the lawyer stated without emotion.
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"You have to find a loophole! Pay them off, threaten the judge, do something!" Julian hissed frantically into the phone.
"There are no loopholes left, Julian. Victoria Vance owns your entire estate, your patents, and your future," the lawyer replied coldly.
