Chapter 7 - The Trap is Set
The breakthrough came at 3:00 AM.
My financial forensic team had hit paydirt. Julian called me with the details, his voice crackling with professional satisfaction.
“We found it, Michael,” Julian said. “Vance Real Estate has been laundering money through dummy corporations in the Cayman Islands for the last four years to avoid state taxes. But that’s not the best part. We found emails. Arthur Vance has been directly paying Judge Miller’s personal offshore accounts to secure favorable rulings in his custody and property disputes.”
“Does he have the records?” I asked, my grip tightening on the phone.
“We have every single wire transfer, every email, and every signed document,” Julian replied. “It’s enough to put Arthur Vance and Judge Miller in federal prison for fifteen years.”
I smiled. It was the smile of a predator that had finally cornered its prey. “Excellent. Schedule a meeting with Arthur. Tell him I want to buy his properties upstate. Make it sound like a routine business acquisition. He won't be able to resist the opportunity to meet with the CEO of the Wellington Group.”
“And if he brings up Anna?”
“He won't know she’s involved until he walks into the room,” I said.
The meeting was set for the following afternoon at a private conference room in my Manhattan headquarters. I spent the morning preparing, making sure every legal document was perfectly aligned.
Before I left the estate, Anna met me in the foyer. She looked worried, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
“Please be careful,” she said. “Arthur can be violent when he’s angry. He’s used to bullying everyone around him.”
I stepped close to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her against me. “Anna, I am the man who buys the companies that build the buildings he operates in. He cannot hurt me. By the time I’m done with him today, he will never trouble you or the children again.”
She looked up at me, her eyes shimmering. “I love you, Michael.”
May you like
The words hung in the air, beautiful and terrifying. It was the first time anyone had said those words to me and truly meant them without expecting a check in return.
I kissed her deeply, pouring every ounce of my feelings into the embrace. “I love you too, Anna. I’ll see you soon.”
