Chapter 4 - The Courthouse Setup
I drove straight to the county courthouse, my mind racing with terrifying possibilities.
Frank had somehow orchestrated a trap to destroy my professional reputation and my livelihood.
I walked into the director’s office and found my boss, Mr. Henderson, looking extremely disappointed.
A uniformed police officer was standing quietly in the corner of the small room.
Mr. Henderson pointed to a stack of empty manila folders resting on his desk.
He informed me that the original files for the high-profile Vance custody case were completely missing.
He stated that I was the last person to log into the basement secure room yesterday afternoon.
I desperately explained that I had left the files locked in the main filing cabinet when I went home.
The police officer stepped forward and noted that the cabinet showed no signs of forced entry.
Someone had used my personal employee keycard to access the room after hours.
I realized with horror that my sister Natalie had stolen my spare keycard during our last family dinner.
They had perfectly framed me for a felony to ruin my credibility before the trust battle began.
Mr. Henderson sighed heavily and told me he had to suspend me without pay pending a full investigation.
I refused to let them destroy the career I had spent ten years building.
I asked the police officer to pull the security camera footage for the basement corridor.
Mr. Henderson argued that it was against protocol, but the officer agreed to check the tapes.
We walked to the security control room, and the guard pulled up the timestamp from yesterday evening.
I held my breath as the grainy black-and-white video played on the small monitor.
A woman wearing a dark trench coat and sunglasses swiped a keycard and entered the secure room.
Her face was mostly hidden, but I instantly recognized the expensive designer handbag slung over her shoulder.
It was the exact same limited-edition handbag I had bought for Natalie last Christmas.
The officer paused the video and zoomed in perfectly on the unique silver clasp of the bag.
I explained the family dispute to the officer and officially accused my sister of corporate espionage.
Mr. Henderson apologized profusely and instantly reinstated my employment status.
I walked out of the courthouse feeling a massive surge of victorious adrenaline.
I called Arthur Sterling and told him to add criminal trespassing and theft to my family's growing list of charges.
Arthur was thrilled, but his tone quickly grew serious again.
He mentioned that Natalie didn't just steal those files to get me fired.
She stole them because they contained highly sensitive financial disclosures about the opposing counsel.
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I asked Arthur who the opposing counsel was in the Vance custody case.
He revealed that the lawyer fighting against my client was actually Frank’s estranged younger brother.
