Chapter 5 - The Trap is Sprung
The private lounge at the top of the Drake Hotel was dimly lit, smelling of aged scotch and expensive cigars.
Victor Vance sat in a leather armchair, sipping a twenty-year-old single malt while watching the news on a muted flat-screen television. At sixty-five, Victor looked remarkably like Warren’s late father—same sharp jawline, same dark eyes—but hardened by decades of bitterness and greed.
Sitting across from him was Dr. Arthur Sterling, looking nervous as he constantly adjusted his gold watch.
"Are you sure this press conference tomorrow will hold up?" Sterling asked anxiously. "Warren’s lawyers are vicious, Victor. If they bring out the Vanguard Holdings bank records—"
"They won't get the chance," Victor said smoothly, swirling his glass. "By the time the SEC finishes reviewing the allegations we drop tomorrow morning, Mitchell Medical’s board of directors will be forced to suspend Warren as CEO to protect the stock price. Once he’s suspended, I execute the proxy votes I’ve been quietly buying up for six months. I take control of the board, dismiss the internal investigation, and settle with you out of court for twenty million dollars."
Sterling breathed a sigh of relief. "And the nurse?"
"A minor casualty," Victor sneered. "Her reputation will be destroyed, of course. The media loves a story about a wealthy CEO abusing his power to protect his low-class lover. She’ll never work in a hospital again."
The heavy oak doors of the lounge suddenly crashed open.
Two private security guards standing near the entrance were shoved aside as Warren Mitchell walked into the room. He didn't have his legal team with him this time. He was alone, his coat dark with rain, his eyes burning with a fierce, deadly rage.
"Victor," Warren said, his voice echoing in the quiet lounge.
Sterling jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking over his glass. Victor, however, merely smiled, taking another slow sip of his scotch.
"Hello, nephew," Victor said pleasantly. "You look stressed. Did the rain ruin your evening?"
Warren walked straight up to Victor’s chair, stopping just inches away. The air between them crackled with decades of poison.
"Leave Nicole out of this," Warren said, every word dripping with lethal intent. "You want to fight me for the company? Fine. Use your lawyers, use your press releases, use whatever filthy corporate tricks you have left. But if you publish one word about Nicole Harper or her daughter, I will dedicate every dollar I own to destroying you."
Victor laughed—a dry, rasping sound.
"Ah, the golden boy has a weak spot," Victor mocked, leaning forward. "How charming. You know, Warren, your father was weak the same way. He let emotion dictate his business decisions. That’s why he died broke, trying to pay for your mother’s hospital bills while I built an empire."
Warren’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Don't you dare speak about my father."
"Why not?" Victor sneered, standing up to face Warren eye-to-eye. "He was a fool. And so are you. You think you’re a hero because you bought County General’s debt? You handed me the exact weapon I needed! Tomorrow morning, the entire city will know that Warren Mitchell uses his corporate empire to wage personal vendettas for his mistress. By noon, you’ll be stripped of your title. By next week, Mitchell Medical will be mine."
Warren stared at his uncle for a long, silent moment.
Then, slowly, the rage in Warren’s face melted away. In its place came a calm, terrifying smile that made Victor’s smile falter.
Warren pulled a small, sleek electronic device from his pocket and set it down on the glass table between them. A soft blue light was flashing on its side.
"You really should have upgraded your security team, Victor," Warren said softly.
Victor frowned. "What is that?"
"A live high-definition broadcast transmitter," Warren replied, taking a step back. "Connected directly to the server infrastructure of the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times, and the State Attorney General’s Fraud Unit. Marcus has been patching the feed directly from the microphone hidden in my lapel since I walked through that door."
Sterling let out a strangled gasp, dropping his scotch glass onto the carpet, where it shattered into dozens of pieces.
Victor’s face went completely white. "You... you recorded this?"
"Every word," Warren said, his voice ice-cold. "Your admission of framing Nurse Harper. Your plan to manipulate Mitchell Medical’s stock price through false allegations. And your confession regarding the twenty-million-dollar fraudulent settlement with Sterling."
Warren reached down, picked up the transmitter, and slid it back into his pocket.
"The Attorney General’s office launched a formal investigation into Aegis Capital twenty minutes ago based on the financial trail my team provided," Warren continued, leaning in close to Victor’s ear. "Federal marshals are currently waiting in the lobby downstairs to arrest Dr. Sterling for evidence tampering and corporate fraud. And as for you, Victor..."
Warren looked his uncle up and down with absolute contempt.
May you like
"You’re going to spend the rest of your miserable life fighting felony conspiracy charges from a federal prison cell. You tried to use a child’s mother to break me. But all you did was give me a reason to end you once and for all."
Outside the lounge windows, red and blue police lights began to flash against the wet pavement of Michigan Avenue, illuminating the dark room in rhythmic pulses of justice.
