Chapter 4 - The Net TightensBack in Thailand, Claire left the business center with a calm, measured stride. The terminal had already logged her out and wiped all local cache data, leaving zero trace of her digital footprint. She returned to the suite to find hotel management knocking anxiously on the door.
The hotel manager, a sharply dressed man named Somchai, looked flustered. "Mrs. Vance? My apologies, but your husband’s credit card guarantee was just declined by the central clearinghouse. In fact, all transactions associated with Mr. Vance have bounced back with a terminal rejection code."
Claire looked at him with an expression of serene indifference. "Is that so? How inconvenient for him."
"Ma'am, the room balance for the week is currently unpaid, and—"
Claire reached into her coat pocket, pulling out a heavy, platinum-imprinted black card that bore no corporate logo from Marcus’s banks. It was an Ellison-Hart sovereign tier card, issued directly by her family’s private wealth reserve. She handed it to Somchai.
"Charge the room to this account," Claire instructed smoothly. "And upgrade me to the royal penthouse suite for the remainder of my stay. Furthermore, I will require a private car and driver at my disposal starting in one hour."
Somchai took the card with trembling fingers, scanning it on his handheld terminal. The device beeped instantly with a high-priority approval chime, displaying a limitless credit tier. Somchai’s posture changed in a fraction of a second; he bowed low, his professional caution instantly morphing into absolute deference.
"Right away, Mrs. Vance. We will have your luggage moved to the penthouse immediately."
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Once settled in the penthouse, Claire poured herself a cup of imported green tea and watched the tropical rain lash against the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her emergency protocol hadn't just frozen Marcus’s money; it had also triggered an automatic compliance audit of Mercer Industries, the company Marcus ran. Every fraudulent contract, every inflated expense report, and every illegal kickback Marcus had hidden over the last five years was now being automatically compiled into a comprehensive dossier destined for the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
By the time Marcus’s flight touched down at Los Angeles International Airport, he wasn't just broke—he was a federal target.
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