Chapter 7 - The Bribe at the Station

At 2:00 PM, I walked into the Napa County Sheriff’s Department with Marcus Hayes flanking my side.

The lobby was crawling with journalists and local news cameras. The headlines were already flashing across cable news tickers: WINE COUNTRY DYNASTY SCANDAL: ADRIAN VANCE ARRESTED IN CELLAR KIDNAPPING PROBE.

As we passed through the secure glass partition into the investigator’s hallway, Charles Vance stepped out of a private conference room. His hair was disheveled, his designer tie crooked, his face gray and haggard.

"Claire," Charles called out, rushing toward me before two bailiffs stepped forward to block his path.

"Stay back, Mr. Vance," the bailiff warned.

"Claire, please! Just two minutes!" Charles pleaded, his voice cracking with humiliation. "Look at me! We can settle this right now!"

I stopped, turning around slowly to look at the man who, less than twelve hours ago, had casually divided up my hard-earned assets while I sat bleeding across from him.

"You have thirty seconds, Charles," I said coldly.

Charles leaned in as far as the bailiff allowed, his eyes frantic. "Ten million dollars. Cash. Tax-free, transferred to an offshore account in the Caymans within the hour. We will drop all claims to your condo. Adrian will sign an uncontested divorce with zero alimony demands. Just tell the DA that the plate slipped. Tell them Maya is delusional and the cellar was a doomsday panic room built by the previous owner."

I looked at him with sheer disgust.

"Ten million dollars?" I asked softly.

"Fifteen," Charles bargained, sweating profusely. "Whatever you want. Just don't let them unseal Adrian's offshore records. It will destroy us all."

I took a step closer, letting him see the seven black stitches sewn into the side of my head.

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"You told me last night that your family supported me since the day Adrian brought me in," I whispered. "Now, watch me take everything you've ever built and burn it to the ground."

I turned my back on him and walked into the District Attorney’s office, leaving Charles screaming insults down the hallway as the deputies shoved him out the lobby doors.