Chapter 9
While Julian sat behind bars awaiting arraignment, Clara Sterling was not idle. Hidden away in the heavily guarded private library of a secondary family property, the matriarch was marshalling every financial resource, legal contact, and political favor she had accumulated over forty years of social dominance. She refused to accept that her family's legacy could be dismantled by a quiet young woman she had attempted to humiliate with a bucket of water just days prior.
Clara sat at her mahogany desk, her hands trembling slightly with suppressed rage as she reviewed a confidential dossier prepared by her private investigators. The report confirmed what she had suspected: Elena had not fled in a state of mental breakdown. She was cooperating directly with federal prosecutors, serving as the primary witness in a RICO case designed to dismantle the Sterling Corporation from the top down.
"Insolent, ungrateful little wretch," Clara muttered to the empty room, her voice shaking with bitter venom.
She picked up her encrypted satellite phone and dialed a private number—a high-powered criminal defense attorney known for handling extremely delicate, politically sensitive cases involving blackmail, witness tampering, and asset recovery. Within rings, the call was answered by a deep, smooth voice.
"Marcus," Clara commanded without preamble, her tone dropping into a chillingly calm register. "I need you to deploy every contingency plan we have regarding our federal cooperative witnesses. I don't care about the corporate audits right now. I care about the source. Find out where Elena is hiding."
"Mrs. Sterling, attempting to interfere with a federal witness under active DOJ protection is a felony offense of the highest order," the attorney warned cautiously on the other end of the line. "The federal prosecutors are watching every move we make. If we trigger an obstruction charge now, there won't be a bail hearing for Julian—or for you."
"I am not asking you to commit a crime in broad daylight, Marcus," Clara hissed coldly. "I am asking you to find any legal leverage, any past vulnerability, any shred of personal history that we can use to discredit her character before she steps foot in a courtroom. A witness with a compromised past is a witness juries refuse to trust."
May you like
"Understood," the attorney replied after a brief hesitation. "We’ll dig into her background before she married into the family. Every job, every relationship, every financial record. If there is a single crack in her spotless reputation, we will find it."
Clara slammed the phone down onto its cradle, her eyes fixed on the empty portrait frame on the opposite wall where Julian’s childhood photograph had once hung before she ordered it removed to avoid media scrutiny. She had spent a lifetime building an untouchable empire of influence, and she was not about to let it be destroyed by someone she considered a mere interloper.
