Chapter 15 - Infiltrating the Vault
To get the records from Lennox & Sons, they needed a whistleblower or a legal subpoena, neither of which they could get in forty-eight hours. Claire knew she had to take a massive risk. She had to play the part of the desperate ex-wife.
She called Richard, her voice trembling artificially over the phone. "Richard... the press is destroying me. My donors are pulling out. I can't take this anymore. Let’s talk about a settlement. But I need to see the financial terms myself. Meet me at your family’s private office at Lennox."
Richard, blinded by his own ego and the belief that he had finally broken her, agreed instantly. "I knew you’d see reason, Claire. Tomorrow at 8 PM. Just the two of us and our lawyers."
The next evening, Claire arrived at the prestigious, wood-paneled offices of Lennox & Sons. Richard and Victor Sterling were waiting, looking triumphant.
"Here is the agreement," Sterling said, sliding a document across the table. "You turn over fifty percent of The Vance Haven’s assets, and we release a statement clearing your name of all financial impropriety."
Claire picked up the document, pretending to read it. While she did, she quietly slipped a small, high-frequency USB drive into the port of the smart-projector console on the conference table—a device David’s cyber-security contact had given her. The drive was programmed to bypass the office's local Wi-Fi and clone the active directory of the firm's server.
"This is extortion, Richard," Claire said, dragging out the conversation to give the device time to work. "You want me to hand over money meant for traumatized women so you can buy a new yacht?"
"It's called leverage, darling," Richard smirked. "You should have stayed quiet in your little corner. You wanted to play with the big boys, now you pay the price."
On her smartwatch, Claire felt a double vibration. The download was complete. She stood up, leaving the document unsigned.
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"I need twenty-four hours to think about this," Claire said coldly.
"You have until tomorrow noon, Claire," Richard warned. "After that, the judge freezes your life."
