Chapter 4 - The Federal Prosecutor’s Office
The spacious federal office in downtown Manhattan was quiet, save for the steady hum of a document scanner and the sharp scratching of Victor Vance’s pen across a legal pad.
Teddy Cole sat nervously on the edge of a leather sofa, clutching a styrofoam cup of black coffee in both hands like a lifeline, while the prepaid burner phone lay disassembled on the center desk between them like a dissected specimen.
Victor looked up from the glowing laptop screen where he had just finished reviewing the extracted text message threads, call logs, and financial wire receipts sent from Isabella Romano’s personal assistant directly to Teddy’s digital wallet.
"Well," Victor said slowly, leaning back in his executive chair and removing his reading glasses. "It’s rare to see a frame-up executed with such breathtaking arrogance—and such utter lack of technical foresight."
Sophia stood by the large window overlooking the grey harbor, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "The messages are all there?"
"Every single one of them," Victor confirmed, tapping the screen. "Isabella didn't just hire this kid; she texted him explicit instructions on how to stage the fake assault, timed the exact minute Adrian would pull up, and even transferred the hush money using a traceable corporate shell company tied to her personal estate trust. This isn't just a petty domestic prank, Sophie. This is criminal fraud, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress executed across state lines."
Teddy cowered slightly in the corner of the sofa. "I... I just needed rent money, man. I swear I didn't know she was gonna use it to ruin someone's wedding."
Victor cast a sharp, clinical glance at the young man. "You won't face prison time, son, provided you sign an affidavit swearing to these facts before a federal magistrate within the hour. But you are going to be living under federal witness protection until this trial concludes, because the moment Adrian Romano finds out he was played like a fool by the woman he abandoned his fiancée for, there won't be a dumpster in this city deep enough to hide you."
Teddy swallowed audibly and nodded so fast his neck nearly snapped. "Where do I sign? Give me the pen right now."
While Victor’s junior clerk escorted Teddy down to a secure private room to draft the formal sworn affidavit, Sophia walked over to her father’s desk and picked up the disassembled burner phone.
"What are you going to do with this, Sophie?" Victor asked gently, watching his daughter’s expression harden into something fierce and unyielding.
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"I'm not going to hand it over to Adrian," Sophia replied quietly. "If I give it to him, his first instinct will be to protect Isabella, or worse, try to handle her privately in the shadows of his syndicate. I want a clean, public execution. I want the entire underworld and high-society circuit to know exactly what kind of manipulative parasite he threw me away for."
Victor smiled faintly—a proud, razor-sharp smile that he had worn hundreds of times inside courtrooms across the country. "Then I suggest we invite Adrian to a very special family meeting. Let's see how fast his undying loyalty holds up when he's forced to read his ex-girlfriend's text messages out loud."
