Chapter 5 - The Trap is Set
The next morning, Daniel arrived at his corporate headquarters at 7:00 AM. His face was a mask of calm determination. He walked past the cubicles, straight into the office of Julian, his CFO.
Julian was a tall, smooth-talking man who had been with the company for four years. When Daniel entered, Julian quickly minimized a window on his computer screen.
"Daniel! You’re back early from the summit," Julian said, offering a warm smile that made Daniel’s skin crawl. "How did the negotiations go?"
"They went well, Julian. Very well," Daniel said, sitting across from him. "In fact, I’ve decided to restructure some of our internal assets. I want to make sure our most loyal partners are taken care of."
Julian’s eyes brightened. "Oh? What do you have in mind?"
"I’m reviewing the Q3 share allocations today. I want you to double-check the digital registry by noon to ensure everything is locked in," Daniel said, giving Julian the green light to execute the forged document without realizing it was a trap.
"Absolutely, boss. I’ll handle it personally," Julian said, practically vibrating with hidden excitement.
Daniel left the office and walked down to the basement security hub. Vance, the investigator, was already there, authorized by Daniel’s emergency executive order. They spent the next three hours rigging Julian’s and Vanessa’s corporate accounts with digital tracking software provided by the federal authorities.
At exactly 11:14 AM, Vance pointed at a flashing red light on the monitor. "There it is. The forged asset transfer document has just been uploaded to the federal corporate registry from Julian’s terminal. And look here... a simultaneous wire transfer of $1.5 million from your reserve escrow account to an offshore account in Belize."
Daniel squeezed the back of Vance’s chair until his knuckles turned white. "Is the money gone?"
"It’s in transit," Vance grinned. "But the feds have already flagged the destination account. The moment Julian confirms the routing receipt, the trap snaps shut."
"What about Vanessa?" Daniel asked.
May you like
Vance checked his phone. "My team has been tracking her. She just arrived at the central branch of your bank. She’s trying to clear out your personal safety deposit box."
Daniel stood up, pulling his coat on. "Let’s go. It’s time to end this."
