Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Trap
The top floor of the Mercer Aerospace tower in downtown Chicago was pitch black, save for the ambient light filtering in from the surrounding skyscrapers through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
I stepped out of the private elevator, my dress shoes making no sound on the thick wool carpet.
Inside the corner executive office, a single desk lamp was lit. Julian Croft was bent over an open leather briefcase, frantically stuffing encrypted hard drives, passports, and stacks of euro notes into the compartments.
"Leaving without saying goodbye, Julian?" I asked softly from the doorway.
Julian jumped, dropping a stack of documents onto the floor. He spun around, his face slick with sweat, his tie loosened at his collar. For a second, he looked like the terrified twenty-year-old kid who used to help me study for engineering exams in our dorm room.
"Elijah..." Julian choked out, trying to force a smile that died instantly on his lips. "What... what are you doing here? I thought you were handling the situation at the estate."
"Vanessa is in a holding cell at the county jail," I said, walking slowly into the room and leaning against the mahogany conference table. "She’s facing charges of felony assault, kidnapping, and extortion."
Julian swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward his briefcase. "Elijah, look... you don't understand what happened. Vanessa... she manipulated me. She had photos from that weekend in Miami—"
"Save it, Julian," I interrupted, taking a cigar from the crystal humidor on the desk—a humidor I had given him for his fortieth birthday—and setting it down. "I don't care about your excuses. I care about Mercer Aerospace."
"I can help you get the money back!" Julian pleaded, stepping around the desk with his hands raised. "The thirty million in Zurich... I have the access code right here! I'll transfer it back to the corporate vault right now, Elijah! Just... don't call the marshals. Let me catch my flight. I'll vanish. You'll never see me again."
I looked at him with pity. "You really think thirty million dollars is what this is about?"
"Isn't it?" Julian asked, bewildered. "It's business, Elijah! It's always about money!"
"No," I said, stepping closer until I was looking directly into his eyes. "It was about trust. You were my brother, Julian. My father paid your tuition when your family lost everything in '08. I made you Vice President because I believed you had a soul."
The sound of heavy boots echoed down the tiled hallway outside the executive suite.
The glass doors opened, and four federal agents in dark jackets labeled FBI stepped into the office, led by Prosecutor Sarah Jenkins.
Julian turned white, stepping back until his hips hit the glass window frame behind his desk. "Elijah... please..."
"Julian Croft," Sarah Jenkins announced, holding up a federal warrant. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, interstate transport of stolen securities, and corporate espionage."
As the agents stepped forward and forced Julian’s arms behind his back, clicking the steel cuffs over his wrists, Julian looked at me with a mixture of rage and desperation.
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"You think you won, Elijah?!" Julian screamed as he was led toward the elevator. "Vanessa’s family has roots deeper than you know! Her father will burn your company to the ground from his cell! You'll be bankrupt by the end of the quarter!"
"My father built this company from a rented warehouse, Julian," I called out as the elevator doors began to slide shut. "I have no problem building it again."
