Chapter 12 - The Ghost of Bennett Pharmaceuticals
Before leaving for the financial district, Claire returned to the secured archive room in the east wing of the estate.
She sat beneath a bright halogen desk lamp, carefully re-examining Dr. Sterling’s encrypted laboratory files and chemical logs.
Something about the synthetic aconitine compound had been bothering her subconscious mind since the night of the siege.
The molecular formula was far too sophisticated to have been synthesized in a backyard syndicate lab.
She magnified the high-resolution scan of the chemical manufacturer’s batch code printed on the bottom of the vial’s label.
Her breath caught violently in her throat as the serial letters aligned on the screen: BP-704-ALPHA.
Claire’s hands began to tremble as she stared at the glowing blue monitor.
BP stood for Bennett Pharmaceuticals.
That specific patent had been developed seven years ago by her late father, Dr. Arthur Bennett.
It was an experimental cardiac stabilizer designed to treat severe arrhythmia in clinical settings.
However, when manipulated with high-alkaline compounds, the chemical inverted into an undetectable neurotoxin that mimicked natural cardiac arrest.
Her father’s laboratory had been sabotaged, his research stolen, and his company driven into forced bankruptcy overnight.
The immense stress and public humiliation had triggered the fatal stroke that ended her father’s life in a crowded county hospital.
Claire covered her mouth as tears of realization welled up in her eyes.
Her father’s death was never an unfortunate medical tragedy.
It was a calculated assassination executed by the very syndicate she had just stepped into.
The heavy study door opened with a soft click, and Luca walked into the room wearing a dark charcoal bespoke suit.
He immediately noticed her distress and closed the distance between them in two long strides.
“Claire, what is it?” Luca asked, placing his hands gently on her trembling shoulders.
“What did you find?”
She turned the computer screen toward him, her voice trembling with raw pain and indignation.
“This poison,” Claire whispered, pointing at the chemical patent.
“It belonged to my father.”
“Seven years ago, a shadow corporation backed by Wall Street raiders engineered a hostile takeover of his life’s work.”
“They stole this formula, drove him into financial ruin, and watched him die in agony.”
Luca’s face darkened with a mixture of profound shock and immense sorrow.
He stepped behind the desk and began rapidly cross-referencing the corporate transaction IDs linked to the BP-704 patent in his private database.
The parent company that financed the hostile takeover of Bennett Pharmaceuticals seven years ago was an offshore shell corporation named Orion Holdings.
And the sole beneficial owner of Orion Holdings was not Marco Moretti.
It was Elder Vance.
“Vance stole your father’s research,” Luca whispered, the revelation striking him like a physical blow.
“Marco merely purchased the synthesized vials from Vance’s private stockpile to use against me.”
Claire looked into Luca’s eyes, her grief transforming into an unyielding fire of determination.
“My father died because of that man’s greed,” Claire said, her voice turning to ice.
“And now Vance is using my father’s life work to murder you and take Blackthorn House.”
Luca took her face into his strong, calloused hands, his eyes burning with absolute devotion.
“Your father was a brilliant and honorable man who was betrayed by monsters,” Luca swore, his forehead resting gently against hers.
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“Today, Claire, we will avenge him together.”
“We will not leave that boardroom until Vance pays for every single tear your family shed.”
