Chapter 35 - The Vatican Depository
Forty-eight hours after the shootout on the West Side Highway, Eleanor stood on the rooftop terrace of an ultra-luxury penthouse overlooking Lake Geneva. The cold alpine wind whipped her hair across her face, but she didn't feel the chill. Her mind was operating at the speed of a supercomputer.
Julian walked out, holding two warm glasses of bourbon. He handed one to her.
"I ran the signature through our European intelligence contacts," Julian said, leaning against the stone balustrade. "The Cardinal isn't a priest. He’s Cardinal Lorenzo Vance—Arthur’s estranged grand-uncle, who took holy orders forty years ago and became the chief auditor for the Institute for the Works of Religion in the Vatican."
"A bishop running a crime cartel?" Eleanor took a sharp sip of bourbon, feeling the fire hit her throat.
"Worse. He's the custodian of the Vance family’s original blood money—the fortune amassed during World War II that was laundered through private Swiss and Italian accounts," Julian explained grimly. "Arthur thought he was the master of the empire, but Arthur was merely the public-facing CEO. The Cardinal owns the debt, the land titles, and the sleeper contracts."
Leo stepped out onto the terrace, wearing a thick wool sweater, his laptop open. "Mom, you need to see this."
Eleanor walked over to her son. On the screen was a reconstructed genealogical ledger going back three generations.
"Arthur had an older brother," Leo said, tapping a red-highlighted entry. "Jonathan Vance. The official story was that he drowned at age seven off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. But look at the Vatican Bank ledger from last Tuesday. Five million euros were transferred from Arthur's dormant trust into an active offshore account in Zurich under Jonathan’s name."
"A dead brother?" Eleanor felt the ground shifting beneath her feet. "Arthur never mentioned an older brother. Not once in all the years we were together."
"Because Jonathan wasn't dead," Julian said, his jaw tightening. "He was hidden away. The Vance family has always kept an heir in the shadows in case the public bloodline failed. If The Cardinal is activating Jonathan now, it means they consider you and Leo illegitimate usurpers."
Eleanor’s eyes turned cold as glacial ice. "Where is Jonathan’s trust registered?"
"The Zurich Private Banking District," Leo replied. "Vault 404, beneath the Bahnhofstrasse. Retinal lock. Pure Vance genetic authorization required."
May you like
Eleanor looked down at her son, then at Julian. "Pack your weapons. We’re going to Zurich."
***
