“Under Clause Fourteen-B of the Master Founding Indenture… the conduit cannot be leased, deeded, or monetized without the joint wet-ink consent of the registered surveyor’s lineal heir and their biological child upon his fifth birthday.”
Cooper pointed his gold pen at Leo:
“Leo turned five years old at midnight last night, Ethan.”
“Chief Justice Arthur Sterling-Vance—your late mother’s biological older brother—knew that today was the statutory expiration date.”
“He knew that if Leo reached his fifth birthday and was acknowledged by you, the entire sixty-billion-dollar sovereign estate would revert in absolute fee simple unto your son.”
“Arthur couldn’t let Claire live.”
“He couldn’t let Leo reach your car.”
Cooper looked at the boy:
“The five-year-old child didn’t run to your Ferrari by coincidence, Ethan.”
“Arthur’s wet-work team chased Claire and Leo into that alley on Worth Street because they knew your routine. They knew you drove that route every Thursday at nine o’clock.”
“Their plan was not just to poison Claire.”
“Their plan was to execute a vehicular hit-and-run on Fifth Avenue—striking your Ferrari with an armored truck, killing you and the boy in an engineered collision, and leaving the Vance-Sterling dynasty as the sole surviving claimants to Conduit Ten before the financial markets open at noon today.”
