Chapter 288: It Is Done

Luca’s plan was simple.

He would keep his ownership of Nexora Technologies hidden until Maison Premier and the Sato family formally reached an agreement.

Then he would reveal everything at once.

By that point, news of Nexora’s merger with the Windsor and Halloway families would already be public, along with its partnership with Hernandez Finances.

Vincent would think he’d finally managed to gain the upper hand over the Windsors and Halloways. Then the ground would disappear beneath his feet. Luca almost had to laugh at the thought.

After dinner, the group left the hotel. As they were saying their goodbyes, Arabella reached up and lightly brushed her fingers against Luca’s cheek. The touch was so brief it felt like a dragonfly skimming across water.

Then she quickly pulled her hand back. Under the amused and knowing looks of everyone around them, she lowered her head and slipped into Victoria’s car.

Luca watched her go before turning toward the others.

"Come on. We should head back too."

Trish and Rachel followed him into the car, and soon they were on their way home. Not long into the drive, Trish grabbed Luca’s arm and shook it playfully.

"Luca, you never took us to the science park before. Were you really that worried about letting your sister see what you were hiding?"

Luca glanced at her.

"You’ve been to Capital City Gaming Center, Northstar, and Summit Capital."

"And I was bored out of my mind," she shot back.

That was true.

Whenever Luca brought her to one of his other businesses, she usually ended up sitting somewhere with her phone while the adults handled business.

She’d assumed Nexora would be the same.

She’d already pictured herself curling up on a sofa and scrolling through her phone while Luca talked about things she didn’t understand.

Instead, she’d discovered an entire world she hadn’t expected.

There were VR games she’d never seen before, along with intelligent robots that were rarely available to ordinary consumers.

While Luca and the others discussed business, Trish and Rachel had spent most of their time exploring the technology.

They’d had so much fun that when the tour finally ended and Luca suggested getting dinner, neither girl looked particularly happy about leaving.

"You two really enjoyed yourselves that much?" Luca asked, raising an eyebrow.

Despite having access to enormous amounts of money, there were still plenty of things he’d never bothered to try.

"It’s actually really interesting."

Rachel smiled as she spoke.

"It’s completely different from playing on a phone or computer. Once you’re inside the game, it feels much more real."

Considering how much time she spent online, her opinion carried some weight.

Rachel had wanted to experience VR and AR for a long time. The problem was money.

Sophie handled most of the family’s finances, and while she would never hesitate to send Rachel money for textbooks or study materials, asking for money to buy expensive VR equipment would almost certainly earn her a lecture first.

Today, though, she had finally gotten to experience it. And she hadn’t spent a cent.

"If you like it that much, I’ll have two sets installed at home."

Trish’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Seriously?"

Luca smiled.

"Seriously."

The rest of the drive passed with the two girls excitedly discussing everything they’d seen.

By the time they arrived home, Trish was already talking about which games she wanted to try next.

...

Capital City remained unusually quiet over the next couple of days.

Nothing dramatic happened on the surface, but beneath that calm, several forces were already moving.

Then, on a bright afternoon, Captain Rico arrived at the Franco De Santa Estate with Justina Farce and another member of their team.

The moment Luca saw Rico’s expression, he already had an idea of why they were there.

"It’s done?"

Rico’s broad grin answered the question before he could say anything.

Justina stepped forward.

"That’s right. I found something on Vincent’s computer."

For the next hour, she went through the information they’d recovered. There was plenty of it.

Evidence documenting Jack’s past crimes.

Information implicating other members of Maison Premier.

Internal records.

And, most importantly, detailed financial statements belonging to Maison Premier.

There were even medical records connected to Vincent that revealed the truth about his infertility.

Luca leaned back in his chair, quietly absorbing everything on the screen. Then one particular document caught his attention.

"I never realized Plot No. 2 was Vincent’s doing too."

He stared at the information for a moment. Looking back, the sequence was obvious.

Northstar had acquired Plot No. 1.

Almost immediately afterward, Plot No. 2 had been put up for auction.

Victoria had been desperate to change the Windsor family’s situation at the time. She’d been so focused on securing the land that she hadn’t noticed the trap being laid in front of her.

Vincent had simply taken advantage of that desperation.

He had manipulated Victoria’s mindset and nearly caused the Windsor family to suffer a devastating setback. Even Northstar had been dragged into his scheme.

Victoria had probably realized later that someone had been pulling the strings.

By then, however, the damage had already been done. There had been no choice but to swallow the loss. A faint sound of footsteps came from behind them.

Sunlight spilled through the nearby windows as Arabella appeared in the doorway.

She was dressed almost entirely in white, with white sneakers completing the casual outfit. Her hands were tucked behind her back as she walked toward Luca.

"What do you mean Vincent was behind Plot No. 2?"

She sat beside him and glanced at the screen.

"It was the plot you guys bought," Luca explained. "Vincent arranged the whole thing."

"So that’s what happened."

Arabella nodded calmly.

From her expression, Luca had a feeling she’d already suspected as much.

He turned back toward the computer.

"Oh, right."

He scrolled back to Maison Premier’s financial records and stopped.

"Send these to Victoria. Ask her to have someone check them carefully. There might be something useful buried in there."

Maison Premier had been operating in Capital City for years.

Its revenue was enormous, and its financial records were extensive enough that even Vincent might not know every insignificant transaction buried in the company’s older files.

Going through everything would be nearly impossible. For now, the best option was to focus on the previous year’s records. Even that would be a massive undertaking.

Luca divided the documents into several sections and sent them to the various companies under his control. If everyone worked on a portion, they could cover far more ground.

Vivienne received a copy as well.

Arabella immediately forwarded the relevant documents to Victoria.

It didn’t take long for her mother’s call to come through.

"Bella, where did you get this?"

Victoria’s usually controlled voice carried a rare edge of excitement. She had been staring at the email for several minutes. The financial information was far too detailed to be ordinary public data.

Every major company prepared financial statements, but the kind of records sitting in front of her contained information that was normally restricted to senior executives and professional managers.

Maison Premier’s internal finances were practically laid bare. If they found irregularities hidden within those records...

Victoria’s expression slowly changed. Maison Premier might have nowhere left to hide.

And if the problems were serious enough, this wouldn’t simply become a question of paying a fine or losing some money.

It could turn into years of legal trouble.

"Luca gave them to me."

Arabella’s voice remained calm, but there was an unmistakable hint of pride underneath it.

Victoria caught it immediately. "Good."

She took a breath, forcing herself to calm down. "I’ll have someone investigate them immediately."

There was a brief pause.

Then her mother’s voice became noticeably lighter.

"You really do have a good eye for men."

The call ended before Arabella could respond.

Luca looked at her curiously.

"What did she say?"

Arabella simply stared at him.

Then she shook her head and rested it against his shoulder.

"I’m not telling you."

Luca laughed.

"You’re getting cheeky."

He reached over and gently messed up her hair.

Then his expression became more serious.

He turned toward Rico.

"What about Stephanie?"

Stephanie had taken a considerable risk to help bring down Maison Premier. Luca didn’t intend to let anything happen to her now.

Rico glanced toward the other man in the room and subtly tilted his head. The signal was enough.

Dressed entirely in black, the man stepped forward.

"I bribed two maids inside Maison Premier." His voice was low and serious.

"They confirmed that Stephanie is safe. She simply hasn’t found an opportunity to leave yet."

Luca considered that for a moment.

"Keep monitoring the situation. Rotate the people watching her so nobody gets careless."

He paused.

"The moment she leaves Maison Premier, our people need to be ready to get her out."

The man nodded firmly.

"Understood. We’ll be ready."

Luca leaned back in his chair.

Everything was moving according to plan.

Now, all they had to do was wait for Maison Premier to make its next move.