Chapter 15 - The Trap is Set
Instead of backing down, Claire and Ethan decided to go on the offensive. They knew that Arthur Vance was too powerful to be brought down by old documents alone; they needed to catch him in the act of committing a modern crime.
With the help of a tech-savvy private investigator hired through Sarah's legal connections, they discovered that Arthur was planning a secret meeting at a high-end downtown restaurant with a corrupt city inspector to secure a fraudulent safety permit for his compromised plaza.
"We need a wire," Claire said during a strategy meeting with their lawyer. "If we can get Arthur on tape admitting to the bribery and referencing the old offshore accounts, we can hand everything to the FBI at once."
"It's too dangerous, Claire," Ethan countered immediately. "He’s desperate. A desperate man is capable of anything. I’ll go into the restaurant. You stay with the kids."
"No," Claire insisted, looking firmly into his eyes. "Arthur expects you to be angry, to confront him violently. He doesn't expect me to walk in there looking ready to make a deal. He thinks I’m just a fragile woman who recently recovered from a brain illness. Let him underestimate me."
After hours of intense debate, Ethan finally agreed, but only under the condition that he would be sitting at the bar, less than ten feet away, disguised and ready to intervene.
The night of the operation arrived. The restaurant was dimly lit, filled with soft jazz and the murmur of wealthy patrons. Claire wore a elegant black dress, concealing a tiny microphone pinned beneath her brooch. She walked toward Arthur’s private booth.
Arthur looked up, surprised, then a smirk spread across his face. "Well, well. The star witness. Have you come to apologize for the trouble you’ve caused my company, Claire?"
Claire sat down across from him, keeping her composure steady. "I’m not here to apologize, Arthur. I’m here to negotiate. My husband found Eleanor’s suitcase. We have the ledger from 1995."
Arthur’s smirk vanished. His eyes turned ice-cold. "That old crazy woman is dead to the world. That paper means nothing."
"It means everything when combined with my architectural audit," Claire said smoothly, leaning forward. "Give Ethan back his frozen bank credits, leave our family alone, and we won't hand the ledger to the federal prosecutors. We know about the city inspector you're meeting tonight, Arthur. We know how much you're paying him to sign off on that faulty foundation."
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Arthur let out a low, menacing chuckle. "You think you're smart, girl? You think a few thousand dollars to an inspector is going to break me? I’ve bought off mayors, Claire. I built this city on shortcuts, and no one—especially not a housewife who almost died a year ago—is going to tear it down. If you drop those documents, you might just live to see your kids graduate."
At the bar, Ethan’s hand tightened around his glass, ready to shatter it. But Claire smiled beautifully, reached into her purse, and pulled out her phone. "Thank you, Arthur. That’s exactly what the FBI needed to hear."
