Chapter 8 - THE TRAP IS SET
By noon the following day, a sleek black sedan pulled through the steel gates of the Steel Ravens Clubhouse.
Out stepped Eleanor Vance—a distinguished, sharp-eyed woman in her late fifties, accompanied by her senior legal analyst. Though she shared no relation to Thomas or Julian Vance, her reputation as a ruthless defender of victims against corporate greed was legendary across the state.
Inside the conference room, Eleanor reviewed the documents, the recorded audio from the logging mill, and Jax’s financial audit of Appalachian Timber.
"This isn't just land theft, Mr. Mercer," Eleanor said, setting down her glasses with a decisive click. "This is racketeering, attempted murder, and corporate fraud on a grand scale. Julian Vance has systematically forged land survey maps submitted to the State Mineral Board to make it appear that Blackwood Ridge was abandoned federal territory."
"Can we stop him?" Thomas asked anxiously.
"Stop him?" Eleanor smiled, a razor-sharp expression that showed why corporate executives feared her. "Mr. Vance, we are going to ruin him. But to make sure he goes to federal prison for the rest of his natural life, we need him to commit his final crime on camera."
"What’s the plan?" Boone asked.
"Julian believes you are hiding at this clubhouse, Thomas," Eleanor explained. "He knows Sheriff Croft failed. In three hours, Julian is holding a private press conference at the County Commerce Building in Asheville to announce the 'acquisition' of Blackwood Ridge, claiming you signed over the deed voluntarily before fleeing the state."
"The liar!" Thomas spat out.
"Precisely," Eleanor nodded. "He needs that public announcement to satisfy his foreign investors before the stock market closes today. He thinks you are broken, isolated, and too terrified to show your face."
Boone stepped forward, leaning his broad hands on the table. "So we crash his press conference."
May you like
"Not just crash it," Eleanor corrected with a cold grin. "We broadcast your survival live to every financial news outlet in the country, while federal marshals execute search warrants on his corporate offices in Charlotte."
Boone turned to Bear. "Tell the boys to fire up the bikes. We’re riding to Asheville."
