Chapter 4 - UNEARTHING THE ROT
While Elena slept, my private forensic team was dissecting Victor Conti’s life layer by layer.
I sat in my corner office on the top floor of the Vance Tower, staring at three massive monitors displaying fifteen years of corporate transactions. Beside me stood Sarah Croft, my chief legal counsel, and Miller, my head of security.
"It’s worse than wage theft, Gabriel," Sarah said, throwing a thick blue binder onto my desk. "Victor wasn't just skimming wages to buy luxury cars. He was using the stolen funds to bribe city health inspectors, immigration officials, and labor union reps."
I raised my eyebrows. "Why would he need to bribe health inspectors?"
"Because he was running a massive black-market kickback scheme inside your properties," Miller chimed in, leaning over the desk. "Victor entered into an illegal contract with Aegis Hospitality Group—your biggest rival in the city."
The name hit the room like a bomb.
Aegis Hospitality was owned by Marcus Cole—a ruthlessly ambitious mogul who had been trying to buy out my hotel chain for a decade. Cole was notorious for aggressive corporate takeovers, union-busting, and dirty tactics.
"Victor was systematically sabotaging your operations from the inside," Sarah explained, pointing to a chart on the screen. "He understaffed the housekeeping department, forced the maids to work eighteen-hour shifts, withheld their pay to force high turnover, and let the rooms degrade. He was tanking your hotel ratings on purpose."
"To force a stock price drop," I realized out loud, my eyes narrowing into slits. "He wanted to make the properties look financially unviable so Marcus Cole could buy controlling shares at a fraction of their value."
"And Victor was promised a ten percent ownership stake in Aegis once the takeover was complete," Miller added grimly. "The wage theft wasn't just greed, Gabriel. It was a weapon to break the spirit of the staff so nobody would report the degrading conditions to corporate."
A cold, calculating rage settled over me.
Victor hadn't just betrayed me. He had weaponized human suffering to hand my life's work over to my worst enemy.
My desk phone buzzed. I pressed the speaker button.
"Mr. Vance," my secretary’s voice came through. "Mr. Victor Conti’s defense attorney is downstairs. He says his client has posted bail through an anonymous corporate bond, and he’s demanding a private meeting."
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I looked up at Miller and Sarah.
"Tell him to come up," I said softly. "It's time to see how much Marcus Cole paid to buy my snake."
