Chapter 2 - The Art of the Trap
By sunrise, I had set the wheels in motion.
Instead of waiting for Julian to return, I packed two suitcases: one with my clothes, and one filled with Evelyn’s velvet box and every piece of hard evidence I found. I drove straight to the office of Marcus Vance—not related to Chloe, but the most ruthless divorce attorney in the city, known for dismantling high-net-worth cheaters piece by piece.
Marcus leaned back in his leather chair, flipping through the financial trails and forged signatures I had placed on his desk. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face.
"Clarissa," Marcus said, adjusting his glasses. "This isn't just a divorce case. This is grand larceny, forgery, and systematic asset concealment. Your husband didn't just cheat on you; he signed his own financial death warrant."
"I want everything," I said, my voice steady and cold. "Every penny, every property, every share of his company. I want him stripped down to the clothes on his back."
"Done," Marcus replied. "But we need to play it smart. If we file normally, he’ll hide his assets offshore before the subpoenas land. We need a trap so loud, so public, and so devastating that he won't even see the wall hitting him."
"What do you have in mind?" I asked.
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"Julian’s company is hours away from securing its biggest merger of the decade—the Vanguard Acquisition," Marcus explained. "The gala is tomorrow night at the Grand Plaza Hotel. Over five hundred investors, board members, and media outlets will be there. That is where we drop the bomb."
I nodded slowly. The stage was set. Julian wanted a grand performance of his successful businessman persona? I was going to give him the greatest tragedy of his career.
