Chapter 2 - THE SABOTAGE
The next morning, Clara’s Hearth was a war zone. Clara refused to cry. She had lost her husband, her first business, and her home; she was not going to let a spoiled socialite take her second chance.
Julian brought his best corporate lawyers to the diner, turning the back booth into a legal command center. "We can tie this up in court for years," Julian promised, looking at Clara’s exhausted face. "I will fund every penny of the legal battle. She will not take this from you."
But Victoria wasn’t waiting for a courtroom.
At noon, right in the middle of the lunch rush, three stern-faced men in windbreakers pushed through the doors. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
"We received an anonymous tip," the lead inspector said loudly, ensuring every customer heard him. "Reports of severe rat infestations and expired, rotting meat being served to the public."
Clara gasped. "That's impossible! I clean this kitchen myself every night!"
The inspectors bypassed her and marched straight into the walk-in freezer. Ten minutes later, they emerged carrying a cardboard box. Inside were four dead rats and five pounds of green, putrid ground beef.
"This establishment is shut down immediately," the inspector barked, slapping a bright red CONDEMNED sticker on the front door. The customers fled, leaving half-eaten meals and unpaid bills.
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Julian walked over to the box, his eyes narrowing. He pulled a pen from his pocket and moved the rotting meat aside. Underneath the plastic wrapping was a barcode from a high-end gourmet butcher shop located in the Gold Coast—the exact neighborhood where Victoria lived. Clara didn't buy her meat there.
"She planted this," Julian realized, his fists shaking. "She paid someone to plant this."
