Chapter 5 - DESPERATE MEASURES
Cornered rats are the most dangerous.
Stripped of their wealth, facing impending bankruptcy, and rejected by every member of high society, the Harcourts were pushed to the edge of total ruin. Julian Harcourt collapsed from a stress-induced panic attack and was hospitalized, leaving Camille alone to manage the wreckage of her family's legacy.
Instead of seeking redemption, Camille’s humiliation turned into pure, unadulterated hatred.
Sitting in her dimly lit apartment—the last piece of property not yet seized by Ethan’s legal team—Camille met with a man named Victor Vance, Ethan’s bitter cousin who had been ousted from Vance Global years prior for corporate embezzlement.
"Ethan thinks he's invincible," Camille spat, swirling a glass of cheap whiskey. "He's completing the final acquisition of the Atlantic Shipping Line tomorrow morning at eleven. If that deal goes through, his company becomes untouchable."
Victor lit a cigarette, leaning back in his chair. "The Atlantic deal relies on a single maritime safety clearance certificate from the port authority. If that clearance is delayed or flagged for safety violations, the European investors will back out due to strict ESG compliance rules."
"Can you flag it?" Camille asked, her eyes glittering with malice.
"I still have contacts in the port authority inspectorship," Victor grinned sinisterly. "A fifty-thousand-dollar bribe will place a fraudulent hazardous material report on Ethan’s flagship vessel tonight. When the investors sign tomorrow, the news of an environmental violation will leak. The contract will implode, and Ethan will face millions in regulatory fines."
Camille pulled out her last remaining diamond necklace—an heirloom from her grandmother. She slammed it onto the table.
"Pawn this," she commanded, her voice trembling with obsession. "Frame him. Destroy him. I want to see him on the street, just like his pathetic mother."
That night, under the cover of dark rain, Victor’s contact slipped onto Port Terminal 4, planting falsified chemical contamination documents in the inspection logs of Vance Global's newest container ship.
What Camille and Victor didn't know was that Ethan had anticipated every move.
Inside the central monitoring station of Vance Security, Ethan sat alongside Marcus, watching high-definition night-vision footage of the corrupt inspector placing the fake documents inside the ship's locker.
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"We got them," Marcus whispered. "Should we call the police now?"
"No," Ethan replied, a cold, calculating smile playing on his lips. "Let them think the trap is set. Let Camille show up at the signing tomorrow thinking she has defeated me. I want her to fall from the highest point possible."
