Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35 — The Alliance Restructured
The next morning, Valeria didn't cry. She didn't hide. She walked into the Phoenix Alliance loft at 8:00 AM sharp.
Her legal team was waiting, along with her first client—the young woman with the manila folder. Valeria sat at her desk, her expression an unreadable mask of determination.
"We are changing our operational scope," Valeria announced to her staff, her voice echoing with a new, dangerous edge. "We are no longer just handling domestic advocacy. We are establishing an international financial intelligence unit. We are looking for hidden assets, offshore laundering networks, and systemic corruption."
Her lead investigator, a sharp former federal analyst named Elena, looked up from her screen. "Valeria, that requires deep-web access and international banking clearance we don't have. Where are we getting that kind of data?"
Valeria slid Victor’s encrypted flash drive across the table.
"We have a primary source," Valeria said coldly. "We are going after the largest asset-clearing house in the Western Hemisphere."
Elena plugged the drive in, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Within minutes, her face drained of color. She looked up at Valeria, her eyes wide with panic.
"Valeria... these files are live. Someone is actively deleting the international accounts right now. The Marbella servers are being wiped."
Valeria’s phone buzzed. A video file was being delivered through an encrypted satellite link. She opened it.
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The video showed a sleek, modern office overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Sitting in a leather chair, her face heavily shadowed but unmistakable, was Ofelia Moreno. She wasn't hiding in Delaware. She had skipped bail and fled the country.
"You thought your father was the only one who kept records, Valeria?" Ofelia’s voice sneered through the speaker. "The Moreno family didn't marry you for your beauty. We married you for your inheritance. And now that your father has frozen my assets in America, I’m taking what belongs to me from the European side. See you in Spain, daughter-in-law."
