Chapter 2 - The First Domino
Julian Cross pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his face flushed with anger. "Who let this woman in? Clara, you're making a massive mistake. You're committing federal kidnapping. I will have you buried under a prison."
Clara smiled—a cold, terrifying expression. "You can't bury someone who already died, Julian. But let’s not make this about me. Let’s make this about... Richard Sterling."
In the crowd, a real estate mogul in a white tuxedo suddenly turned pale. He tried to back away, but the tight crowd trapped him.
"Richard," Clara’s voice echoed off the marble walls. "Two years ago, you bribed city inspectors to ignore the structural faults in the West End housing projects. Six months later, the roof collapsed. Three families lost their lives, and you walked away with a forty-million-dollar insurance payout."
The room fell dead silent.
Behind Clara, a massive projector screen unrolled from the ceiling. It illuminated the room with a highly classified bank statement. It was Richard’s offshore account in the Cayman Islands.
"This is slander!" Richard screamed, sweating profusely. "I’ll sue you for every penny!"
"You don't have any pennies left," Clara replied. She tapped her tablet.
On the screen, the balance of Richard’s account—$40,215,000—began to drop in real-time. It plummeted to zero in three seconds.
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Richard dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. "My money... my money! What did you do?!"
"I redistributed it," Clara said smoothly. "To the families of the victims you buried in the rubble. That was just the appetizer, ladies and gentlemen. There are two hundred of you in this room. And I have a file on every single one."
