Chapter 5 - The Homecoming TrapWhen Marcus and Evelyn stepped off the plane at LAX, they expected their legal team and corporate handlers to meet them at the gate. Instead, they were greeted by four armed federal marshals and two internal corporate investigators wearing dark suits.
"Marcus Vance?" the lead marshal demanded, stepping forward and flashing a badge.
"Yes—what is the meaning of this?" Marcus stammered, holding up his hands defensively as Evelyn shrieked behind him. "I demand to speak with my attorney! Do you know who my family is?"
"Your family accounts have been seized, Mr. Vance, and your corporate offices have been raided pursuant to a federal warrant," the marshal said coldly, snapping the steel handcuffs onto Marcus’s wrists. "You are being detained for wire fraud, securities manipulation, and corporate embezzlement."
Evelyn tried to push past the marshals, her face contorted with rage. "This is a mistake! My son is an executive! Where is Claire? Where is that ungrateful little orphan? She did this!"
"Ma'am, step back," another marshal warned, guiding Evelyn away as curious travelers whipped out their phones to record the spectacle.
Marcus was shoved toward a black transport van, his expensive suit wrinkled, his dignity completely shattered. As the van doors slammed shut, his phone—which had been buzzing incessantly with notifications—finally displayed a single, direct text message from an unknown, encrypted number:
May you like
“How does it feel to figure it out yourself? - C.”
Marcus stared at the screen, the horrifying reality finally sinking in. Claire wasn't a victim stranded in a foreign country. She was the master puppeteer who had pulled the rug out from under his entire existence.
