Chapter 2
When Charles heard the words "Red Plan," a flicker of wariness crossed his eyes.
But he didn't stop her.
To him, Claire couldn't make any waves; she was no real threat.
It was nothing but a last-ditch struggle.
He was sure his plan was foolproof.
But that confidence was exactly what set him up for failure later on.
The cold handcuffs clicked shut around Claire's wrists.
As she walked past Charles, she paused.
She didn't spare a glance at him, or at Lily in his arms.
She spoke softly, her words meant for his ears alone. "Charles, you'll regret this."
For the first time, she made it clear that they were done, and payback was coming.
Charles's lips twisted into a cold, mocking smile.
He couldn't even be bothered to reply.
Instead, he ran his fingers through Lily's silky hair, making it clear to everyone she belonged to him.
"I never regret any of my decisions," he said, his voice cold, dripping with arrogance.
In that instant, his arrogance and cruelty hit their absolute peak.
The cold, hard seat of the police car dug painfully into Claire.
She turned her head, watching the luxurious villa shrink into the distance outside the window. Not a single tear fell from her eyes.
Only a cold fire burned inside her.
Five years of marriage, and there was nothing but a carefully orchestrated scam.
The real game was getting started.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
It was a message from Emily, just before her phone was snatched away. [Red Plan activated. Relax. All those backdoors he set up to keep you under his thumb? Now, they're yours to use against him.]
*****
The interrogation room was flooded with harsh, icy white light, bearing down on Claire until her eyes stung and her nerves felt raw.
The prosecutor slammed a thick stack of files onto the table right in front of her.
"Claire! Every single document has your signature. We've got witnesses, we've got evidence; how are you going to talk your way out of this?" he snapped.
He was trying to crush her spirit, piling on the pressure.
Claire was up against a mountain of evidence.
Claire didn't even bother to blink, let alone waste a glance on their so-called "evidence."
Instead, she took her sweet time and lazily pointed out a tiny flaw in their interrogation process, almost like she was the one in control.
She said, "Mr. Johnson, as per Article 121 of the Criminal Procedure Law, interrogations of suspects are supposed to be conducted in officially designated locations.
"And by the way, you've been grilling me for over four hours straight without my lawyer present. That's a clear violation of procedure."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word landed crisp and powerful.
With that, Claire's professionalism and unshakable composure flipped the whole situation; suddenly, she was the one running the show.
The prosecutor, Ramon Johnson, was clearly caught off guard.
He gave her another once-over, sizing up the woman he'd thought was just a housewife.
Her eyes were unnervingly calm, nothing like a suspect who'd walked into an interrogation room for the first time.
His heart skipped a beat.
She was no ordinary woman.
In that moment, his perception of her shifted; now, she had his full attention.
Just then, the door to the interrogation room swung open.
Emily strode in, dressed in a sharp business suit, her heels clicking against the floor.
She and Claire exchanged a knowing look.
"Mr. Johnson, I'm Emily Lane, Claire's defense attorney," Emily announced.
She placed her credentials on the table, her manner poised and assertive.
"My client requests a comprehensive forensic handwriting analysis of all the signed documents involved in this case. Additionally, we are applying for access to all original backend data from the subsidiary's projects."
This was their first move in the counterattack, stalling for time while challenging the prosecution's core evidence.
Catching Emily's signal, Claire dropped Lily's name as the real person in charge, making it sound like a casual aside.
"Honestly, I barely know anything about these projects; my name's just there for show," she said.
She put on a look of total innocence and confusion.
"Lily White handled everything. She's way more familiar with the data and contracts than I am," Claire added.
For the first time, Claire finally dragged Lily into the game, for real.
Her move was slick, throwing Lily under the bus without breaking a sweat.
The prosecutor's pen paused on the paper. He looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping over Claire's face.
He jotted down "Lily White" and said in a flat, official tone, "We'll summon the relevant parties for questioning."
"We'll summon the relevant parties for questioning."
Claire, ever the "helpful" one, added, "Just be gentle with her, okay? She's always been so innocent; don't scare her."
That kind of fake-sweet act, used on the other woman, was dripping with irony.
Elsewhere, Charles got the news almost instantly.
When he realized Claire had the nerve to drag Lily into this mess, he was livid; he dialed Emily without a second thought.
His voice practically crackled with fury over the phone. "Tell Claire if she even thinks about messing with Lily, I'll make sure she rots in there forever."
He was totally freaking out now.
That was proof; Claire had nailed his weak spot, and he knew it.
From the temporary detention center, Claire got word from Emily about Charles's reaction.
He was calling in every favor and using all his connections, desperate to clear Lily's name and distance her from the case entirely.
An icy, knowing smile tugged at Claire's lips.
The more desperately he tried to protect Lily, the more suspicious she became in the eyes of the prosecutors.
She had turned Charles's love for Lily into her deadliest weapon against her.
It wasn't long before Emily brought some good news.
The handwriting analysis she'd requested had come back with some promising results.
The signatures on those documents looked almost identical to Claire's, but under a high-powered microscope, the pressure, speed, and even the way the letters connected were all clearly different from Claire's usual style.
"Claire, this is a huge win for us," Emily said, her voice practically buzzing with excitement. "We've got a real shot at getting you out on bail."
*****
In the visiting room, Claire finally came face to face with Charles.
It had only been a few days, but he looked like he'd been through hell, dark circles under his eyes, his whole face gaunt and worn out. But those eyes of his were burning with pure rage, like he was ready to explode.
Charles barely sat down before snapping, "Claire, what the hell are you trying to pull?"
He was so worked up that he didn't care if she was suffering or not; her well-being meant nothing to him right now.
"Why drag Lily into this mess? What do you even get out of it? She's scared out of her mind, you know; she's practically sick from all the stress!"
His words were like knives, each one stabbing straight into Claire's heart.
Claire stared at him, calm and steady, the same man she'd poured five years of love into, and now he looked like a stranger to her.
"I'm just stating the facts," Claire said, her tone flat.
Her voice was flat, not a hint of emotion. "Or maybe, Mr. Goodman, you're just scared of the truth?"
Her icy calm was a stark contrast to his wild, out-of-control rage.