Chapter 7 - Baiting the Trap
With Chloe’s failed abduction attempt at the preschool, the Sacramento District Attorney’s office officially revoked her bail. She joined Diane and Rick Miller in the county detention center, facing a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years without parole under California’s strict child endangerment and human trafficking statutes.
But Detective Vance wasn't entirely satisfied.
“There’s a missing piece to this puzzle,” Vance told me over a cup of black coffee in his precinct office the Friday before the grand jury indictments.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We found references in Diane’s ledger to a secondary buyer—an anonymous third party based in Reno, Nevada, who wired an additional fifty thousand dollars directly to an underground escrow account controlled by Rick Miller,” Vance explained, sliding a bank routing summary across the desk. “Diane and Chloe are taking the fall, but Miller is still protecting the identity of the primary buyer. He thinks that if he keeps his mouth shut, his associates outside will finance his high-priced defense team and help him skip bail if an opportunity arises.”
“So how do we get him to talk?” I asked.
“We make him think the deal is still alive,” Vance said with a faint, predatory smile.
I stared at him, my eyebrows rising. “How is that possible? Diane and Chloe are locked up, Miller is behind bars, and Lily is safe with me.”
“Miller doesn't know that Chloe was arrested yesterday,” Vance said smoothly. “He’s sitting in booking, communicating through a corrupt paralegal he bribed with contraband commissary funds. If we leak a fabricated legal document indicating that Chloe Hayes is currently out on bail and actively attempting to finalize the 'adoption placement' with the Reno buyer to save herself, Miller will panic.”
“He’ll try to cut a deal to save his own skin,” I realized.
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“Exactly. Criminals like Miller have zero loyalty when they realize their partners are selling them out to save their own necks. All we need you to do, Emily, is authorize our cyber-crime unit to route a mock communication through your old family email address—making it look like Chloe is acting on Diane’s behalf.”
I didn't hesitate. “Do it.”
