Chapter 2 - The Trap Snaps Shut
The bartender closest to the stage suddenly reached under the mahogany counter. He didn't pull out a bottle of champagne; he pulled out a badge and a heavy black binder.
"Federal Financial Crimes Task Force," the bartender announced, tossing the binder onto Vanessa's VIP table. "Vanessa Vale, you are under arrest for corporate espionage, identity theft, and the fabrication of federal financial documents."
Vanessa stumbled backward, her heels catching on the edge of the stage. "This is absurd! My tech team verified those accounts! Elena stole that money!"
"Your tech team did exactly what we expected them to do," I said, walking slowly up the steps of the stage she had built to humiliate me. "Did you really think the anonymous gossip accounts you hired weren't being monitored? You spent three months tracking my movements, Vanessa. But you failed to realize that every time I entered a police precinct or met with a detective, I was handing over the digital breadcrumbs you were leaving behind."
I pointed to the giant screen behind her.
"The routing numbers you inserted next to my name are dummy accounts created by the Police Department's Cyber Division two weeks ago. We leaked them to your hackers. The moment your system accessed those numbers to forge these documents, you gave the state supreme court the exact digital signature needed to sign a warrant for Vale Holdings."
Vanessa’s face drained of all color. She looked at her friends in the crowd—the politicians, the investors, the elite of the city—but every single one of them was busy looking away, stepping back, completely abandoning her.
"Daniel!" she cried out, turning to my husband in desperation. "Daniel, tell them! You know she’s a fraud! She’s ruining my family’s name!"
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Daniel looked up at her, his grip tightening around my waist. "The only person who ruined the Vale name tonight is you, Vanessa. I gave Elena access to your threatening emails, your extortion attempts, and the offshore accounts you used to fund this smear campaign. I didn't marry you for a reason. And tonight, the whole world knows why."
Chief Vance nodded to his officers. "Take her."
