Chapter 22 - THE SETUP
Armed with Briana’s authorization and a federal subpoena obtained through Khloe’s relentless legal maneuvering, we hit the private vault. Inside, we found exactly what Trevor had promised: a sleek, encrypted hard drive. We handed it straight to the FBI’s financial crimes division.
But Arthur was a cornered rat, and cornered rats are the most dangerous. Realizing his accounts were suddenly frozen by federal order, he correctly guessed I was behind it. He orchestrated a massive, coordinated smear campaign online, releasing doctored audio clips to the press that made it sound like I was extorting him.
The managing partners at my firm panicked. The negative PR was threatening our biggest accounts. I was called into an emergency board meeting and asked to step down temporarily.
"If I step down, he wins," I told the board, slamming a thick file of FBI affidavits onto the table. "This man is under federal investigation for money laundering and corporate espionage. By tomorrow morning, this audio will be proven as a deepfake, and Arthur Vance will be in handcuffs. Stand with me, and we make legal history. Abandon me, and you're protecting a criminal."
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The room fell silent. My managing partner looked at the evidence, then at me. "You have twenty-four hours to end this."
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