I frowned.

“We closed the round,” I said.

“There are no more shares available for this Series.”

“I know,” Marcus said.

“That is why this is highly unusual.”

“Someone has been making unsolicited offers to your early angel investors.”

“They are offering twice the current valuation to buy out their private shares before the Series A officially registers tomorrow morning.”

I felt a cold sensation in my stomach.

“Who is doing that?” I asked.

“The offers are coming through a shell company registered in Delaware,” Marcus said.

“But my compliance team did some digging on the bank accounts funding the entity.”

He opened his laptop again and turned it toward us.

A document with a bank routing number and an account name was displayed.

“The funds are originating from a private trust,” Marcus said.

“And the trustee listed on the account is a name you might find familiar.”

I stared at the name on the screen.

The room seemed to grow very quiet despite the clinking glasses nearby.

The name on the screen was Arthur Vance.

I stared at the letters until they blurred into the white background of the spreadsheet.