Chapter 6 - Uninvited VIPs and High-Stakes Fraud
The catering staff wasted no time. Once they realized they were working an illegal scam, they threw their insulated food carriers back into their vans and sped down the driveway, leaving Vanessa standing alone among half-unpacked boxes of imported truffles and artisanal cheeses.
"You can't do this to me!" Vanessa cried, tears streaking her expensive foundation. "Rebecca, please! The Austin group paid fifty thousand dollars! I already used thirty thousand of it to pay off the decorator, buy my gown, and settle my past-due boutique loan! If they show up and find the doors locked, they will sue me into oblivion!"
"That sounds like a personal financial problem," I replied coldly. "You should have thought about breach of contract before selling reservations for a house you don't own."
Just as Deputy Walker was escorting Vanessa toward her luxury leased sedan to retrieve her personal belongings, the low hum of two black luxury Mercedes Sprinter vans echoed up the winding mountain pass.
Vanessa gasped. "Oh, God. They’re here. They’re early!"
The two luxury vans pulled into the circular driveway, their tires crunching against the fresh snow. The doors slid open, and a dozen men and women dressed in expensive designer ski apparel stepped out, laughing, holding craft beer cans, and expecting a weekend of elite indulgence.
A tall, middle-aged man in a tailored Moncler coat walked up toward the porch, looking puzzled by the two sheriff’s cruisers parked with their emergency lights flashing.
"Excuse me," the man said, looking between Vanessa, Deputy Walker, and me. "Is this the Sovereign Mountain Lodge? I’m Bradley Vance—no relation—CEO of Apex Cloud Systems. We booked the entire estate for our executive winter summit."
Vanessa stepped forward, trying desperately to salvage the situation. "Bradley! Hi! There’s just a small plumbing misunderstanding with county inspectors—we are transferring your booking to a fabulous luxury resort in Vail—"
"Stop lying to them, Vanessa," I interrupted clearly, stepping in front of her.
Bradley turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?"
"My name is Rebecca Miller. I am the sole legal owner of this home. This woman is my sister. She forged documents, trespassed onto my private property, and sold you a fake booking. There is no luxury resort. There is no commercial staff. She took your money illegally, and she has just been served with an eviction order."
Bradley’s jaw dropped. The other executives behind him stopped laughing, their faces darkening into immediate outrage.
"Are you telling me we flew twelve people on a private charter from Austin to Aspen, took Sprinters up the pass, and paid a fifty-thousand-dollar wire transfer for a scam?" Bradley shouted, his voice echoing across the snowy valley.
"That is precisely what happened," Daniel said, stepping forward and handing Bradley his business card. "I am Rebecca's legal counsel. The sheriff is currently securing the property. If you wired funds to Sovereign Mountain Hospitality Group, I strongly recommend you contact your corporate fraud division immediately. Judge Harrison froze their accounts two hours ago."
Bradley turned toward Vanessa, his face turning an alarming shade of crimson. "You sociopath. Do you have any idea who my corporate counsel is? You took a wire transfer from a publicly traded software company across state lines! That is federal wire fraud!"
"It was an honest mistake! My mother authorized it!" Vanessa sobbed, backing toward Deputy Walker’s patrol car. "I can refund your money! Just give me a few weeks!"
May you like
"You will be hearing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Attorney General," Bradley hissed, whipping out his phone to call his legal team. "Back in the vans, everyone! We're heading to the St. Regis in Aspen!"
As the Sprinters backed out and roared away down the mountain, Vanessa sank to her knees in the driveway, weeping into her designer scarf. The grand empire she had built on arrogance and stolen keys had completely collapsed in less than fifteen minutes.
