Chapter 3 - THE RAT TRAP"You're lying!" Victoria shrieked, backing toward the glass exit doors. "My uncle is Victor Vance! He has political connections across this entire city! You can't touch us over some worthless, uneducated maid who forgot to pay her rent!"

"Your uncle's political connections," Arthur murmured, gesturing to the lead federal agent standing beside him, "were frozen twenty minutes ago."

The federal agent stepped forward, pulling a thick stack of federal seizure warrants from his leather briefcase.

"Victoria Vance," the agent announced, "as of 7:45 AM, Federal District Court Judge Robert Vance—no relation—signed an emergency freezing order on all accounts associated with Vance Realty Group, Cross & Associates Law, and your personal accounts. Every asset you own is locked."

Victoria’s breath came in ragged, hysterical gasps. "No... no, the transfer... the wire clear at 9:00 AM!"

"The wire clear was intercepted," Arthur said, a cold, predatory smile playing across his lips. "And instead of going to your offshore account in the Caymans, the $4.2 million sitting in your shell company's account was automatically redirected to an escrow holding account in the name of Sarah Bennett."

Victoria clawed at her throat as if she were choking. "You can't do that! That's illegal!"

"Read Section 14-B of the commercial master charter you forced Sarah to sign," Arthur replied, stepping right up to her, his sharp grey eyes cutting through her like broken glass. "You thought you were clever using our boilerplate contract to steal her land. But under Section 14-B, any fraudulent transaction executed on our contracts results in the immediate, total forfeiture of all assets involved to the victim."

He leaned in close, his voice dropping to an icy whisper.

"You told Sarah that poor people should learn to read before signing contracts. It seems you forgot to read the fine print yourself."

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Arthur Sterling tapped his leather-wrapped fingers against the steering...

The sound hung in the air, rhythmic and deliberate—tap, tap, tap—reverbe...

The wind on the balcony was sharp, carrying the bitter, fish-heavy tang...

Two federal marshals stepped up from behind Victoria, grabbing her arms and snapping heavy steel handcuffs around her wrists. As she was dragged out crying and screaming into a waiting police cruiser, Arthur pulled out his encrypted satellite phone.

"Marcus," Arthur spoke into the receiver. "The niece is in custody. It’s time to pay the lawyer and the landlord a visit."