Chapter 4 - The Legal Trap
The next forty-eight hours were a masterclass in legal warfare.
Vance Sterling’s contacts at the State’s Attorney's office worked with terrifying efficiency. The raw, unedited footage from my work laptop, combined with the recovered Ring doorbell footage showing Lorraine entering our house with the shears, was enough to secure immediate, high-priority arrest warrants.
But Vance advised us to hold off on executing them for twenty-four hours.
"Richard Cole’s development company is currently in the middle of a fifty-million-dollar bidding process with the city for the new riverfront district," Vance explained during a meeting at Clara’s house. "The public contract is scheduled to be voted on tomorrow night at the city council meeting. If we arrest Lorraine tonight, Richard will use his legal team to post bail instantly and spin the story to the local press as a 'private family matter' before the bidding closes."
"We want him to feel safe," Clara said, her eyes burning with a cold, protective fire. "We want them all to show up at that council meeting, thinking they’ve won."
"Exactly," Vance said. "We execute the warrants at the meeting. In front of the city council, the local press, and their entire business network. We dismantle their reputation in the exact place they value it most."
"And Nathan?" I asked, my voice steady.
"Nathan is currently trying to locate you," Vance said. "He’s called your studio thirty times, and he’s left several voicemails on Clara’s phone. He still thinks this is a negotiation. He thinks he can buy your silence."
"Let's let him think that," I said.
I picked up my phone and dialed Nathan’s number. He answered on the first ring.
"Olivia!" his voice gasped, filled with a frantic, desperate relief. "Oh my God, thank God you called. Where are you? I’ve been going crazy. I went to the studio, but Miles wouldn't let me past the lobby."
"I'm safe, Nathan," I said, keeping my voice soft, tired, and defeated. "I’m staying at a motel outside the city. I needed time to think."
"Liv, please come home," he begged. "My mom... she’s so sorry. She’s had a breakdown. She’s agreed to pay for any treatment you want. We can go to a private retreat in Arizona, just the two of us, and get through this. My dad is willing to buy us a new house, anywhere you want, if we just keep this quiet."
"Your father knows?" I asked.
"He... he knows she went over there, but he doesn't know about the hair," Nathan admitted, his voice dropping. "He just thinks she had a confrontation with you. If he finds out about the shears, it will ruin the riverfront deal, Olivia. Please. For the sake of our future, don't say anything to anyone."
"I won't say anything to the press, Nathan," I said, which was technically true. The police would be the ones doing the talking. "But I need you to do something for me."
"Anything! Name it!"
"Meet me at the city council chamber tomorrow night at 7:00 PM," I said. "Your father’s bidding presentation is at 7:30, right?"
"Yes," Nathan said, confused. "Why do you want to meet there?"
"I want to see your family in public," I said. "I want to see if your mother can look me in the eye when she's surrounded by the people she respects. If she can do that, and if she apologizes to me in person, I’ll consider the Arizona retreat."
"She will! I'll make sure she does!" Nathan promised, his voice practically weeping with relief. "Thank you, Olivia. I love you so much. You're making the right choice."
"I know I am, Nathan," I said, and hung up the phone.
May you like
I looked at Clara and Vance.
"The stage is set," I said.
