Chapter 7 - The Trap is Set
Three days after the disastrous gala, Julian Sterling sat in a dim, greasy booth at a diner in Queens, frantically chewing his fingernails.
Opposite him sat a shady, sharp-faced private investigator named Vance Miller—no relation to attorney Marcus Vance—whom Julian had hired secretly months ago to monitor Lauren’s movements in the Bronx.
“I need cash, Miller!” Julian hissed, leaning across the table. “Alexander frozen all my accounts! My credit cards are declined! I can't even pay my rent!”
Miller casually took a sip of his black coffee. “That sounds like a personal problem, Julian. You owe me twenty grand for keeping track of your brother’s ex-wife and making sure she stayed terrified in that basement.”
“I’ll pay you double once we fix this!” Julian pleaded desperately. “Listen to me. My mother has an off-market safe deposit box in a bank in Midtown. It contains four million dollars in unregistered bearer bonds. If I can get into that box, I can get out of the country!”
“And how do you plan to get the key?” Miller asked, raising an eyebrow. “Your mother’s house is surrounded by reporters and process servers.”
“The key is hidden inside Victoria’s summer house in the Hamptons,” Julian whispered, a desperate, dark look entering his eyes. “I just need a car and a little bit of time. But I need you to do one last job for me.”
Miller narrowed his eyes. “What kind of job?”
“Alexander is distracted with his little reunion family,” Julian sneered bitterly. “I want you to plant evidence in Lauren’s old apartment in the Bronx. Fake receipts, forged bank transfers... anything that makes it look like she was extortionately demanding cash from my mother all along. If I can create enough public doubt, I can file a counter-suit and force Alexander to unfreeze a portion of the family trust!”
What Julian didn't know was that the greasy diner booth had been bugged two hours before his arrival.
Three miles away, inside a darkened surveillance van parked near the East River, Alexander and Marcus Vance were listening to every single word through high-definition headphones.
Marcus smiled darkly, adjusting his glasses. “Bearer bonds in a Midtown bank, an unregistered safe deposit box, and an explicit confession to planting forged evidence. He just handed us his entire criminal empire on a silver platter.”
Alexander removed his headphones, his face cold as marble.
“He’s going to the Hamptons estate tonight,” Alexander stated flatly.
“Yes,” Marcus nodded. “And the police will be waiting for him the moment his fingers touch that safe deposit key. But what about your mother, Alexander? She’s still claiming complete ignorance of Julian’s actions.”
May you like
Alexander looked out the van window at the glittering lights of the city skyline.
“My mother built her life on a foundation of absolute pride,” Alexander said quietly. “It’s time to show the world what happens when that foundation completely crumbles.”
