Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!-Chapter 333: Ghost From the Past

For all the stress Lilian Greaves caused Darren’s employees, it almost felt fitting that she was here. If either Vance or Daisy were violent people, a hand or a fist would have been struck against her tender face.

However, it had been balanced out by the stress that they equally caused her. Those times had been frustrating; desperately trying to outplay each other, making sure t’s were crossed and i’s were dotted.

In the end, Darren had been playing them all. Lilian, moreover, had been the greatest sufferer of his deceit. He ran her in circles until it led to a civil war in the DFI and the arrest of her own boss.

This should have been a good thing, yes? Surely the deceit part of it all was all behind Lilian Greaves, because in the end, the right thing came of it: The bad guy was in jail.

Unfortunately, the former soldier was not one to let go of past quarrels.

The three of them stood in a tight, isolated triangle amid the empty courtroom. The judge, sensing hostility that he didn’t want to be a part of, sighed, rose from his chair and strutted out of the room.

"Deputy Director," Vance began, his voice a smooth, dark drawl. He offered a smile that barely showed teeth, or reached his stoic eyes. "I see you’ve traded the field work for a corner office. Congratulations on the promotion, Lilian."

Lilian stood perfectly still, a posture learnt from her military times as she assessed the two lawyers clinically. It was her turn to smile. "Thank you, Jonathan. That actually warms my heart."

Vance cleared his throat. "Although, I must admit, I didn’t expect you to grace a simple civil dispute with your presence."

Lilian shook her head, forcing off a chuckle. "How about you? I see you’re still making a very lucrative living cleaning up Darren Steele’s messes, Jonathan."

She tilted her head. "Don’t you think calling a multi-million dollar corporate espionage suit a ’simple civil dispute’ is an insult to both of our intelligence?"

Daisy raised her voice to grab attention. She was a foot shorter than Lilian, but she compensated with her aggressive energy. "We are handling internal house cleaning, Director Greaves. Shareholders breached their fiduciary duties. We filed injunctions. It’s strictly private sector."

"Nothing Darren Steele does is strictly private anymore," Lilian countered effortlessly. She looked past Daisy, fixing her gaze on Vance. "I have to hand it to him. He played a brilliant game last year. He pointed me right at Caldridge, knowing my department would tear itself apart trying to excise the rot."

A muscle in Vance’s jaw twitched, though his smirk remained. They all knew the history.

Darren hadn’t just used Lilian as a bloodhound to take down her corrupt boss, he especially wanted to create a federal media circus that would cause Bitcoin’s value to skyrocket perfectly in time for him to cash out.

It all worked out.

"Shouldn’t you be thankful?" Vance said. "He’s the reason a criminal is out of your federal institution, and... he got you the big job. Deputy Director."

"I did the heavy lifting," Lilian pouted apathetically. "I went against my cohorts and subordinates. I arrested my own director. Wasn’t easy. And while the Department of Financial Integrity was bleeding in the press, your boss used the chaos to pump the price of his digital garbage to the moon and walked away with millions."

She tilted her head, a cold, acknowledging smirk touching her lips. "Smart boy."

"My client is simply an opportunist who believes in the free market," Vance said smoothly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "But that was the past, Lilian. Which brings us back to the present. Why are you here? This court date has nothing to do with Bitcoin, and it certainly has nothing to do with the DFI."

"Doesn’t it?" Lilian asked vaguely, checking the pristine face of her silver wristwatch. "A hostile takeover attempt by an international consortium, thwarted at the eleventh hour, followed immediately by massive, punitive asset freezes? The liquidity movements alone triggered three separate federal algorithms this morning."

"That is a gross overreach," Daisy snapped, her litigator instincts flaring. "And you know it."

Vance took a half-step forward, dropping the charm. His voice hardened into the weapon he used to terrify boardrooms.

"Under Section 4(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act, federal agencies must demonstrate probable cause of active market destabilization to intervene in private litigation. You don’t have a mandate, Lilian. You’re fishing, and you’re doing it outside your jurisdiction."

Lilian almost looked amused. She wasn’t scared or worried like before. This time, she came prepared. She met his intimidating height without giving an inch of ground.

"Title 15, Chapter 2B of the Securities Exchange Act, under the revised Capital Asset Oversight protocols, Mr. Vance," she recited flawlessly, like she was reading from an invisible book.

"The DFI maintains unilateral, preemptive intervention rights over any entity wielding ’systemic risk potential.’ And right now, considering the sheer volume of capital Darren Steele is throwing around to crush his rivals, he is a walking, breathing systemic risk."

She took a step back, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from her immaculate navy blazer. The debate was over. She had the higher card, and she knew it.

"I have a briefing with the regional director in twenty minutes," Lilian said, her tone returning to its icy baseline. "But rest assured, I will be formally filing our intent to observe. I’ve waited a long time to look under the hood of Steele Investments again. I truly can’t wait." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

She turned on her heel to leave, taking two measured steps down the marble corridor before she paused.

Slowly, she looked back over her shoulder. Her storm-grey eyes locked onto Vance.

"Oh, and Jonathan?" Lilian said, her voice carrying clearly over the din of the hallway. "Do greet Mr. Duckling for me."

Vance froze.

The blood drained from Daisy’s face as she looked up at her mentor, seeing a look of genuine, unfiltered shock cross the usually unflappable lawyer’s features.

Lilian didn’t wait for a response. She offered a final, razor-sharp smile and walked away, her heels clicking a rhythmic, victorious beat against the marble until she disappeared into the crowd.

For a long moment, neither lawyer moved.

Vance finally let out a sigh, rubbing his nose with his finger. Then, gazing into the ceiling, his hand moved quickly, diving into his suit pocket.

He pulled out his phone, his thumb pressing buttons to dial a secure line.

"Jonathan?" Daisy pressed.

Vance pressed the phone to his ear, his eyes dark and fixed on the spot where Lilian had just vanished.

"Cancel your afternoon appointments, Daisy," Vance said grimly, listening to the line ring. "I have to call Darren."