Chapter 14: The Trap is Set
Two weeks later, Arthur filed a formal motion requesting a closed-door legal mediation. He carefully worded the request to suggest that Evelyn was crumbling under the media pressure, exhausted by the public scrutiny, and desperate for a quiet, out-of-court settlement.
Marcus took the bait immediately.
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The mediation was set in a towering, glass-walled conference room in downtown Manhattan. Evelyn sat perfectly still at one end of the long mahogany table, flanked by Arthur and a stenographer. When the double doors opened, Marcus and Eleanor strode in, flanked by their own high-priced legal team.
Marcus looked triumphant. He wore a smug, patronizing smile, his chest puffed out with the arrogance of a man who believed he had successfully beaten his wife back into submission. Eleanor trailed closely behind him, her nose held high in the air, radiating disdain. Without a word, Marcus’s lead attorney opened his briefcase and slid a familiar manila folder across the polished wood. It was the exact same stack of foundation transfer documents from the night of the dinner party.
