Chapter 20 - The Bait is Cast
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The meeting was set for a rainy Tuesday afternoon at a high-end, neutral restaurant in downtown Greenwich. Noah arrived alone, purposefully leaving his private security detail parked a block away. He wanted to project vulnerability. He navigated his crutches through the dimly lit restaurant and slid into a leather booth opposite Arthur Sterling, who was already sipping an expensive bourbon.
"Well, well. The boy king graces me with his presence," Sterling sneered, not bothering to offer his hand. "Where is your mother? Finally realized she’s outmatched?"
Noah kept his head slightly bowed, forcing his shoulders to slump, playing the role of a defeated teenager flawlessly.
"My mother doesn't know I'm here, Mr. Sterling," Noah lied smoothly, his voice trembling just enough to be convincing. "The press... the articles you are publishing... it's tearing my family apart. I can't handle the stress anymore."
Sterling smiled a greasy, triumphant smile. "I told you, kid. This is the big leagues. You should have sold when I gave you the chance."
Noah reached into his jacket pocket and slid a folded piece of paper across the polished wooden table.
"I can't sell the land. The board of directors would block it, and my mother would fight you in court for a decade," Noah said nervously. "But... I can make you go away."
Sterling frowned, picking up the paper and unfolding it. It contained a routing number, an account ID, and a set of access codes.
"What is this?" Sterling asked suspiciously.
"It’s an unrestricted foundation reserve account," Noah whispered, looking around as if terrified of being overheard. "There is ten million dollars in it. It's yours. Completely untraceable. Take the money, drop the eminent domain lawsuit, and leave us alone. Please."
Sterling stared at the numbers, his eyes widening slightly with greedy calculation. He looked at Noah, seeing nothing but a desperate, broken boy trying to buy his way out of a nightmare.
"Ten million?" Sterling chuckled darkly, pocketing the paper. "You are definitely committing a massive felony right now, kid. But I admire your pragmatism. I’ll run these numbers. If the money is there, maybe we have a deal. If this is a trick, I will ruin your life."
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Noah stood up, grabbing his crutches. "Just take the money and leave my family alone."
As Noah walked out into the rain, a cold, genuine smile finally spread across his face. The bait was in the water.
