Chapter 3: Unraveling the Billionaire's Web at the Precinct
The flashing blue and red lights of State Police cruisers illuminated the grand entryway of the Hamptons estate as tactical units swarmed the property. Inside the vaulted library, Detective Marcus Thorne stood over Arthur Vance, who had been restrained in a heavy leather armchair. The billionaire’s tailored suit was now rumpled, his breathing shallow as he glared daggers at the door.
Claire had been rushed to Southampton General Hospital under armed guard, wrapped in thermal blankets and oxygen masks, while Leo—her childhood friend and former fiancé whom Arthur had tried to legally ruin—sat in an adjoining interview room, giving a statement that chilled the detectives to the bone.
“He didn't just try to fake an accident, Detective,” Leo explained, his voice shaking with residual adrenaline as he clutched a cup of black coffee. “Claire discovered that Arthur’s entire corporate empire was built on massive offshore embezzlement and illegal weapons contracts through shell companies. When she threatened to go to the DOJ with the paper trail, he drugged her with a paralytic agent that mimics clinical death. He declared her dead, bribed the county coroner, and planned to bury her three hundred feet deep in a private family mausoleum.”
Detective Thorne flipped open his notebook, his jaw tightening. “And how did you find out in time?”
“I received an encrypted alert from her smartwatch’s biometric sensor before the battery died inside the sealed box,” Leo said grimly. “She wasn't dead. Her heart rate dropped, but she was conscious the entire time. He knew it. He buried her anyway.”
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Across the hallway, Arthur Vance sneered at the two troopers guarding his door. “You’re wasting your time. My legal team has federal judges on speed dial. By morning, I’ll be out of this precinct, and you’ll all be looking for new jobs.”
He still believed his money could buy him immunity. He didn't know that federal marshals had already seized his primary servers, and that Claire Vance had finally woken up in the hospital—ready to speak.
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