Chapter 5

“Julian Reeves was your former client?”

Anneth was still holding the case file as they left Adrian’s office. She glanced at Leonard, who was walking beside her, waiting for his answer.

“A few years ago,” Leonard replied. “A corporate embezzlement case.”

“Did he actually embezzle the money?”

“It was never proven.”

Anneth raised an eyebrow.

“Typical lawyer’s answer.”

“It’s my job.”

Leonard slipped both hands into his pockets before continuing. Julian had been accused of diverting company funds into several personal accounts. The prosecution had evidence of the transactions, but nothing substantial enough to establish that Julian had been the person controlling all of them.

Leonard had taken the case because several aspects of the financial reports didn't make sense, particularly the companies receiving the money, which turned out to have connections to other people within the organization.

“What happened in the end?” Anneth asked.

“The case was dropped because there wasn't enough evidence to proceed with the charges.”

“And now Victoria was contacting him?”

“It doesn't seem like a coincidence.”

Anneth opened the latest notes they had received from the investigator. Julian's name appeared several times in Victoria's communication history over the past two weeks. There had been three phone calls and several messages that couldn't be retrieved because they had been deleted from the victim's phone.

“If Victoria was investigating her family's company transactions, Julian might know something no one else does.”

Leonard nodded.

“I've already contacted him. He's agreed to meet us.”

They found Julian at a café not far from the city center. He was waiting in a corner with his laptop open in front of him.

When he saw Leonard arrive with Anneth, his expression shifted slightly, as though he hadn't expected his former lawyer to show up with someone who had once played a significant role in his life.

“It's been a while,” Julian said, standing up.

“Long enough,” Leonard replied.

Julian's gaze shifted to Anneth.

“And you must be Anneth.”

She offered a faint smile.

“Apparently, my name is still famous.”

“Not because of legal news.”

Leonard pulled out a chair.

“We're here to talk about Victoria.”

Julian's smile immediately disappeared. He sat back down and closed his laptop before looking at them in turn.

“I figured you'd come.”

“Why?” Anneth asked.

“Because Victoria contacted me before she died.”

Anneth and Leonard exchanged glances.

Julian went on to explain that Victoria had reached out to him about two weeks before her death. At first, she had only asked about an old case Leonard had handled, but their conversation had taken a different turn after Victoria mentioned several transactions involving Lancaster Group that didn't make sense to her.

“She sent me some documents,” Julian said. “They contained a list of payments to several relatively unknown companies. The amounts were substantial, but there was no clear explanation of what goods or services the payments were for.”

“Do you still have those documents?” Leonard asked.

“Some of them.”

Julian opened his laptop and showed them several copies saved on the device. Anneth immediately examined the figures on the screen, while Leonard studied the names of the companies listed beneath each transaction.

“This one,” Leonard said, pointing to a company name. “I recognize it.”

“The same company from your case?” Anneth asked.

Julian nodded.

“That company came up in my case years ago. Back then, I was accused of diverting funds to them, even though I wasn't the only person with access to those transactions.”

Anneth studied the screen more closely.

“Now that same company is receiving money from Lancaster Group.”

“At least, that's what Victoria discovered.”

“Why didn't she take these documents straight to the police?” Anneth asked.

Julian sighed.

“Because she was afraid.”

“Afraid of whom?”

“I don't know.”

His answer prompted Anneth to study him more intently.

“Did you meet in person?”

“Two days before she died. At a restaurant near her office.”

Leonard leaned back in his chair.

“What did she tell you?”

“She said someone was moving company money through several intermediary businesses. She didn't know who was behind it, but she was certain the person had considerable access within the family or the company.”

Anneth fell silent for a moment before asking, “Did Victoria tell you about her pregnancy?”

Julian held her gaze for a long moment before finally nodding.

“She did.”

“Did she tell you who the father was?”

“No.”

“Did she mention anyone by name?”

“Not directly.”

Julian rubbed his face, seemingly trying to recall their conversation.

“She only said that the pregnancy made everything much more complicated.”

Anneth immediately remembered what Marcus had told them. He had claimed he knew nothing about Victoria's pregnancy and had even said that Victoria once told him she couldn't have children.

If Julian knew about the pregnancy, it meant Victoria had deliberately kept it from some of the people closest to her.

“Was she afraid something might happen to her?” Leonard asked.

Julian nodded slowly.

“She said that if anything happened to her, I had to make sure those documents didn't fall into the wrong hands.”

“Where are the other documents?”

“I don't know. Victoria only sent me some of them.”

Julian then opened another folder and showed them a photograph of a document Victoria had sent him. Several transactions were clearly visible, including one company that had been marked in red.

Anneth leaned closer to the screen.

“This is the same company.”

“Yes,” Julian replied. “And there's something even stranger. After Victoria contacted me, I tried tracing the company's latest transactions. Several payments came in shortly after funds had left Lancaster Group.”

Leonard studied the figures intently.

“So someone is moving money through a deliberately layered network.”

“That's my suspicion.”

Julian was about to send another file to Leonard when the phone lying on the table vibrated.

He glanced at the screen, and his expression changed.

“What is it?” Anneth asked.

Julian didn't answer immediately. He read the message again before handing his phone to Leonard.

The message was from an unknown number.

Stop investigating what happened to Victoria if you don't want to end up like her.

Anneth read it over Leonard's shoulder.

There was no sender's name, only a number Julian hadn't saved in his contacts.

Leonard looked up.

“When did you receive this?”

“Just a few seconds ago.”

Anneth took the phone and examined the number.

“Don't delete it.”

“I wasn't planning to.”

“And don't go home alone.”

Julian looked at them both, his earlier air of casual confidence completely gone.

“I think,” he said quietly, “whoever killed Victoria knows exactly what we're looking for.”