Chapter 7 - The Trap is Set
I pressed my back against the cold stone wall, motioning for Marcus to stay silent. The floorboards above us creaked under heavy footsteps.
"I told you to wait until Friday, Emily!" a harsh, stressed voice barked. It was Julian Vance.
"If I waited until Friday, he would have caught on!" Emily’s sharp voice shot back. "He was already asking questions about Rosa’s payroll today! He closed his laptop when I walked in. He knew something was wrong, Julian!"
"Did he sign the foundation waiver?" Julian asked aggressively.
"No! He said he’d sign it tomorrow," Emily snapped. "It doesn't matter. The federal agents found the forged offshore accounts I planted in his safe. By midnight, his personal accounts will be frozen. The board of the Bennett Foundation will have no choice but to appoint me as emergency interim trustee by tomorrow morning."
"What about the five million for my creditors?" Julian demanded. "They’re threatening to come to my house tonight!"
"Tell them they'll get their money on Friday at the gala," Emily answered coldly. "We are going through with the event as planned. The press will be there, the donors will be there, and I will announce the foundation's new direction while my dear brother sits in a holding cell. Now help me wipe this server before the feds decide to search the guesthouse too."
My stomach churned with disgust. It was all there. A full, unvarnished confession uttered in the dark.
Marcus silently raised his phone. The screen displayed an active recording icon—he was capturing every single word through high-sensitivity parabolic audio gear attached to his device.
Above us, we heard the whirring sound of a hard-drive shredder starting up. They were destroying the physical equipment.
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"We can't let them destroy those drives," I whispered to Marcus.
"If we burst in there now, it's our word against theirs, and Julian is armed," Marcus whispered back, pointing to a faint bulge near Julian’s jacket waist visible through the floor vents. "We let them think they won. We let them host their little gala on Friday. And then we execute a trap they can never escape."
