Chapter 8 - The Desperate Strike
The detective stared at the screen, his face draining of all color as the assassination contract became clear.
Arthur had realized that as long as I was alive, he could never legally control Noah's remaining estate.
He had hired professional mercenaries to stage a fatal car accident, planning to make me disappear forever.
The police immediately placed my house under twenty-four-hour armed guard.
Noah, Madison, Chloe, and I were forced to stay completely inside, terrified of every passing car.
The district attorney moved swiftly, charging Arthur with attempted murder for hire.
Faced with spending the rest of his life in federal prison, Arthur's expensive lawyers tried to cut a desperate deal.
They offered to fully return the stolen trust fund money if the DA dropped the murder conspiracy charges.
I sat in the district attorney's office, listening to the absurd, insulting offer with rising anger.
"Absolutely not," I stated firmly, refusing to let that monster walk free just to get my money back.
The DA agreed with me, vowing to crush Arthur completely in the upcoming trial.
Meanwhile, Kevin was sitting in a separate jail cell, completely abandoned by his wealthy father.
Realizing Arthur was not going to bail him out, Kevin decided to save himself.
Kevin's public defender contacted my lawyer with a shocking proposition.
Kevin was willing to testify against Arthur and provide the exact location of the offshore money in exchange for a lighter sentence.
We needed Kevin's testimony to guarantee Arthur would never see the outside of a prison cell again.
I reluctantly agreed to support Kevin's plea deal, strictly for the safety of my son.
The trial date was set for two weeks later, dragging out the suffocating anxiety hanging over our heads.
Every night, I checked the locks on my doors three times, haunted by the thought of Arthur's hired killers.
The morning of the final court hearing arrived with a heavy, oppressive rainstorm.
I walked into the massive courthouse, flanked by Chloe, my lawyer, and two armed police escorts.
Arthur was sitting at the defense table, wearing an orange jumpsuit and looking entirely pathetic.
Just as the judge struck his gavel to begin the proceedings, the courtroom doors burst wide open.
A frantic court clerk rushed down the aisle and handed a sealed note directly to the judge.
The judge read the paper, his eyes widening in total shock.
He looked directly at me and announced that the trial was suspended indefinitely.
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"Arthur Vance cannot stand trial today," the judge declared loudly.
"The defendant's offshore bank accounts were entirely emptied overnight by an unknown hacker, and the syndicate has placed a bounty on his head."
