Chapter 5 - The Master Manipulator
I stood completely frozen, staring at the trembling, terrified woman who had mocked me just yesterday.
Natalie desperately explained that Judge Vance was a highly violent, abusive man deeply indebted to the criminal cartel.
He had forced her to completely seduce Dominic in order to legally access the Sterling family's massive, pristine financial network.
"Dominic actually thinks he is the grand mastermind, but he is just a pathetic, disposable pawn," Natalie confessed rapidly.
"The moment the judge successfully forces you to transfer your trust fund, he is going to have Dominic completely eliminated."
I realized that exposing the entire corrupt plot immediately would simply allow the judge to silence everyone involved.
If I wanted to protect my children and completely destroy this criminal ring, I had to let Dominic confidently hang himself.
I promised Natalie that if she secretly provided me with hard evidence, my grandfather would grant her absolute federal protection.
She quickly handed me a tiny, encrypted flash drive containing the judge's illegal offshore banking records before fleeing the restroom.
I returned to the hospital with a cold, calculated plan entirely formed in my racing mind.
I intentionally instructed my grandfather to falsely leak a rumor that we were surrendering the medical supply contracts to Dominic.
Dominic swallowed the bait instantly, believing his brutal legal strategy had completely broken my fighting spirit.
He spent the entire afternoon bragging loudly on social media about his massive, upcoming corporate expansion.
He was blissfully unaware that the contracts were entirely structured to trap his company in massive, unpayable federal tax fraud.
Late that night, I was sitting alone in my dark recovery room, gently pumping milk for my fragile twins.
The heavy door to my private hospital room slowly creaked open, bypassing the security detail stationed outside.
I immediately reached for the emergency call button, but a desperate, frantic hand violently grabbed my wrist.
It was Dominic, completely stripped of his tailored suit and arrogant swagger.
His designer shirt was heavily torn, and dark, fresh blood actively dripped from a nasty cut across his forehead.
"Audrey, you have to hide me right now," Dominic begged, his eyes wide with absolute, unfiltered terror.
"Natalie's husband just found out about our affair, and he sent armed cartel hitmen to my apartment to murder me."
I stared at the pathetic, bleeding man who had heartlessly tried to ruin my entire existence just two days ago.
Before I could even utter a single word of rejection, the harsh hospital fire alarms suddenly began screaming throughout the entire building.
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"They didn't just come for me, Audrey," Dominic whispered, trembling violently as the hallway lights flickered ominously.
"The hitmen followed me here, and they are actively heading straight toward the neonatal intensive care unit to get your babies."
