Chapter 14 - THE PHOENIX GALA “She invited 300 elites to celebrate her defeat... then played their taped confessions on the big screen!”
To celebrate the resolution of the legal claims, Claire announced "The Phoenix Gala"—a black-tie charity event held in the very ballroom where she had been thrown out five days prior.
Every high-society figure, politician, and Wall Street titan in the city attended. Among them was Victor Vance, forced to appear to project an aura of calm to his nervous investors.
Vance stood near the fountain, sipping champagne, his expression smug despite his frozen offshore accounts. He believed his legal team could drag the RICO charges through court for a decade.
Claire walked onto the orchestra stage, holding a golden microphone. The room fell into respectful silence.
"Five days ago, I was escorted out of this room," Claire began, her voice echoing through the acoustics. "I was told I was a stain on a perfect evening. I was told I was bad with money, unstable, and irrelevant."
A few nervous chuckles stirred in the audience. Vance smiled into his champagne glass.
"Tonight, I want to share a brief video showing how we restructured our financial affairs," Claire continued, pointing to the massive LED screen behind the stage.
The lights dimmed. But instead of financial slides, the screen lit up with high-definition surveillance footage from Victor Vance’s private penthouse suite, recorded just forty-eight hours prior.
On screen, Vance was sitting across from a disgraced, handcuffed Vanessa in a visitor room, laughing coldly.
"Don't worry about Arthur," Vance’s recorded voice blasted through the ballroom’s sound system, clear as crystal. "The old fool thinks he's going to South America. Once the hotel defaults, I'll leak his offshore tax files to the IRS and let him rot in federal prison. Eleanor’s daughter won't have a cent left to sue us."
The ballroom exploded into screams and gasps. Champagne flutes shattered on the floor.
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Vance turned white as a sheet, dropping his glass. He spun around to head for the doors, only to find six federal officers standing in the archway, weapons drawn.
"Lord Vance," the lead prosecutor stepped forward. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, attempted murder, and corporate extortion."
