Chapter 2 - The Setup at the Head Table
Five minutes before the confrontation, Claire had entered the Grand Carlton ballroom wearing her late husband Arthur's favorite silk dress.
Arthur Vance, the visionary founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vance Holdings, had passed away suddenly three weeks prior under mysterious circumstances. Since his passing, Richard and Victoria had seized control of the corporate board, locking Claire out of Arthur’s estate offices and claiming that Arthur had left his entire multi-billion-dollar empire to Richard.
Claire had been invited to the gala under the false pretense of accepting a charitable memorial award in her late husband's honor.
When Claire sat down at the head table, Victoria instantly began her public harassment, making snide comments about Claire's humble background before marrying into the ultra-wealthy Vance family.
"Arthur made a terrible mistake marrying a middle-class schoolteacher," Victoria whispered loudly enough for surrounding board members to hear. "You think you're getting a single dollar from Vance Holdings? You're leaving tonight with nothing."
When Claire refused to react, remaining poised and dignified, Victoria signaled a waiter, grabbed a heavy silver tray laden with thick white dessert cream, and deliberately dumped it straight over Claire's head.
They wanted to break her spirit in front of New York high society. They wanted her to flee in humiliation so Richard could execute the fraudulent board transfer uninterrupted.
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They had no idea that Claire had walked into the ballroom expecting their exact cruelty.
👉 Read Part 3 to learn how Claire obtained the small black voice recorder.
