Chapter 15 - The trap in broad daylight
By noon, the counterattack began, not with bullets, but with legal poison.
Breaking news flashed across every television screen in Chicago: *Arthur Bennett Accused of Embezzling $40 Million from City Harbor Authority; Warrants Issued by State Supreme Court.* Below the headline ran photographs of forged bank transfers bearing Arthur’s signature, funneled through accounts that allegedly financed human trafficking rings.
"Julian owns the State Attorney General," Roman's second-in-command reported, walking into the study with a tablet. "The marshals are already moving toward this building with a federal search warrant. If Arthur steps outside, he goes straight to Cook County Jail, where Julian's men run the cell blocks. He won't survive his first night."
Arthur dropped his head into his hands, entirely broken. "It's over. They've framed me so thoroughly that no court will listen. I should turn myself in so they leave Clara alone."
"You will do no such thing," Clara said, stepping forward. Her voice possessed the commanding authority of a woman who had stood in shredded silk before hundreds of elites and never bowed her head. "They want us panicked. They want Roman to fire on federal officers so they can label him an outlaw and strip his empire legally. That is Julian’s real game."
Roman looked at his wife, an appreciative spark igniting in his dark eyes. "You have an idea."
"Julian thinks I'm still the frightened girl who hid in restaurant kitchens," Clara said coldly. "He used the legal system to hunt my father. We will use his own corrupt machinery to hang him. The microfilm has the routing numbers of the offshore accounts that funded the Attorney General's campaign last November. We don't hide Arthur. We take Arthur directly to the Federal Courthouse, in broad daylight, surrounded by the press."
May you like
Roman caught her hand, kissing the knuckle where her wedding band shone. "He will send snipers to the courthouse steps."
"Let him," Clara said, leaning closer to Roman until she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. "Because you'll be waiting for them on the rooftops."
