Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN THEY ARRESTED BEFORE QUESTIONING.
Daniel dragged Claire onto the stone deck and wrapped his soaked jacket around her shoulders.
Eleanor showed no fear.
“She was being detained for stealing five million dollars from the family trust. She attacked security and tried to escape through the pool.”
Claire stared at her.
“You pushed me while my hands were locked.”
Eleanor turned toward the arriving deputies.
“She is a bookkeeper from a rented apartment who became obsessed with our money. Decide which story sounds more realistic.”
The words exposed the trap.
Wealth made Eleanor sound credible before anyone examined the evidence.
Poverty made Claire look guilty before she spoke.
A deputy checked the handcuffs.
Their serial number belonged to Vale Estate Security—not law enforcement.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“You had no authority to restrain her.”
Eleanor replied, “I had a responsibility to protect the family.”
Then the maintenance worker recovered the pool camera footage.
It showed Eleanor ordering a guard to cuff Claire before forcing him to leave.
But the guard was not visible after that.
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His employee badge was found beneath the pool cover.
And it was covered in Claire’s fingerprints.
