"What's going on," Marcus said, his tone dropping into a icy, controlled rage, "is that your daughter has been spending the last six months trying to quietly liquidate your property trust behind your back."
Arthur blinked, the color slowly draining from his weathered face. "What... what are you talking about?"
"He's lying!" Maya screamed from the floor, scrambling to her feet in a sudden burst of energy. She lunged forward, her hands outstretched toward the tablet Marcus was holding. "Don't look at it, Dad! Don't look at it! How could you do this to me, Marcus?!"
"Stay back, Maya!" Marcus warned, pulling the tablet back out of her reach as he tapped the glass screen twice.
"Dad, don't let him show you!" Maya pleaded, her hands hovering near Arthur's shoulders as he sat on the couch. Her voice broke into frantic, desperate sobs. "He altered the files! He's setting me up because I found out about his gambling debts in the city!"
Arthur looked between his two children—the daughter who was shaking with tears at his side, and the son who stood towering over them with a glowing screen full of cold, uncompromising data.
"Give me the tablet, Marcus," Arthur said quietly, his voice carrying the authority of a patriarch who had reached his limit.
Marcus hesitated for a second, then lowered the device, placing it directly into his father's gnarled hands.
Maya buried her face in her hands, letting out a choked scream of pure defeat as the light from the digital display illuminated Arthur's face.
Chapter 3: The Documents in the Cloud
The screen displayed a digitized power-of-attorney filing from the State Probate Court, accompanied by three bank authorization forms bearing Arthur Vance's electronic signature.