The entries went back eighteen months.
Millions of dollars in unregistered corporate transfers, shell company routing codes, and illegal customs clearances for unregistered shipping containers.
Julian wasn’t simply managing money.
He was laundering black-market funds through my brother’s freight shipping port.
And Jim—my gullible, desperate younger brother—had been signed on as the primary domestic officer, carrying all the legal liability while Julian pulled the strings from behind a wall of offshore accounts. If federal authorities uncovered the ring, Jim could spend twenty years in federal prison.
Julian could walk away clean, claiming he had merely been a financial consultant deceived by his brother-in-law.
He hadn’t brought Jim on this vacation to help him relax.
He had brought him here to force him to sign the final transfer papers outside domestic jurisdiction.
A cold, lethal fury ignited inside my chest.
Julian had taken my family, my trust, and my brother’s life and transformed them into fuel for his own greed.
Just then, the electronic keycard beeped at the suite’s front door.
PART 3
Beep. Green light.
The heavy front door clicked open.
I slammed the metal case shut, pushed it back beneath the bed, and rose in one fluid motion, grabbing a bottle of lotion from the nightstand just as Julian entered the master bedroom.
He had taken off his sunglasses, and his dark hair was slightly damp from the ocean breeze.
He looked handsome, composed, and completely relaxed—a man convinced he controlled every variable in his universe.
“Hey, babe,” Julian said, offering that smooth, charming smile that had captivated me six years ago. “Where’s Lily? I thought you two were down by the water.”
“She’s getting a smoothie at the pavilion,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I rubbed lotion onto my arms to give my hands something to do. “Jim’s watching her.”
“Ah, good,” Julian said, walking over and placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
He smelled of expensive cologne and salt water.
“Jim seems a little more relaxed today. I think this trip was exactly what he needed.”
