Chapter 8 - The Trap for Senator Vance
Inside the private VIP lounge of The Drake, Senator Richard Vance sat behind a wide mahogany desk, sipping bourbon, flanked by two sharp-faced corporate attorneys.
Vance was fifty-two, slick, arrogant, with silver hair and a heavy gold signet ring on his finger.
"Nathan," Vance sneered, setting his glass down as Nathan and Emily walked into the soundproof room. "I see you brought company. I thought this was a private meeting between gentlemen regarding my son, Leo."
"Miss Carter is the Senior Developmental Specialist managing Leo's care, Richard," Nathan said, sitting down in an armchair across from the senator. "Anything you have to say regarding my nephew will be said in front of her."
Vance chuckled patronizingly, leaning back in his leather chair.
"Look, Cole," Vance said, waving his hand dismissively. "Let’s cut through the legal theater. I know you're hiding the boy at your penthouse. Dr. Marcus filed a preliminary report, but my legal team has filed a motion to subpoena the boy’s medical records tomorrow morning. We'll claim he’s being kept in an isolated, hostile environment managed by underworld enforcers."
Vance leaned forward, his eyes narrowing greedily.
"Surrender the thirty percent voting shares in Cole Maritime to my campaign trust, Nathan," Vance demanded smoothly, "and I’ll drop the custody petition. Let me win the governor’s race, and everyone goes home happy."
Emily stepped forward, holding her leather folio.
"Senator Vance," Emily spoke, her voice clear, articulate, and completely commanding the room.
Vance frowned, looking up at her with irritation. "I don't speak to the hired help, young lady—"
"Page fourteen of the State Ethics Committee Disclosure Charter, Senator," Emily interrupted smoothly, sliding a document across the desk. "Two weeks ago, you transferred forty thousand dollars from your campaign fund to a private account held by Dr. Marcus’s brother in the Cayman Islands."
Vance froze. His hands clamped onto the edge of the desk.
"What did you say?" Vance stammered.
"You attempted to bribe the court-appointed psychologist to alter his evaluation of Leo," Emily continued, pulling a second sheet from her folio. "Unfortunately for you, as the Estate Archivist, I personally cross-referenced all public filing records of Dr. Marcus's associate firms three days ago. The wire transfer receipts, the IP routing addresses, and the signed affidavit from Dr. Marcus’s administrative clerk are already sitting on the desk of the Federal Prosecutor for the Northern District of Illinois."
Vance’s legal team gasped, frantically grabbing the papers off the desk to inspect them.
"This... this is illegal surveillance!" Vance shrieked, jumping out of his chair, his face turning a dangerous shade of purple.
"This is forensic accounting, Senator," Nathan added calmly, standing up to his full height, his physical presence looming over the desk like a dark cloud. "You picked a fight over my family. And you failed to realize that the woman protecting my nephew is ten times smarter than every lawyer in your firm."
Nathan stepped closer to Vance, leaning over the desk until his face was inches from the politician’s panic-stricken eyes.
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"Withdraw your custody petition by midnight tonight, Richard," Nathan whispered softly. "Or the Federal Prosecutor holds a press conference at seven o'clock tomorrow morning."
Vance sank back into his leather chair, his jaw slack, his hands trembling violently as he looked at Emily in total, speechlessly defeated horror.
