Julian turned his head slowly, looking at Richard with a cold, penetrating glare that silenced the older man mid-sentence.
"Your curb?" Julian asked softly. He reached into his inner suit jacket pocket and withdrew a thin, elegant navy blue folder stamped with a gold seal.
"Richard Miller," Julian said, his voice flat as steel. "You work for Apex Logistics Consulting, correct?"
Richard blinked, taking an involuntary step back. "How do you... how do you know where I work?"
"Apex Logistics is a third-tier subcontractor for Vance Dynamics," Julian explained calmly, opening the folder. "I signed your firm's termination notice from my private jet forty minutes ago. Your company’s retainer with us ends at 5:00 PM today."
Richard’s face drained of all color. "What...? Vance Dynamics...? You... you're that Vance?"
"And as for this house," Julian continued, pulling a crisp, notarized land registry document from the folder, "my legal team reviewed the original transfer records from six months ago. My grandmother wire-transferred four hundred thousand dollars directly to the escrow account for this parcel."
"It was a gift!" Richard yelled, panic rising in his voice as he looked toward Clara for support. "She gave it to us!"