Chapter 24 - The Rat Trap
The trap was elegantly simple, designed entirely by Clara’s brilliant, calculating mind.
She deliberately authorized a massive transfer of untraceable funds into a vulnerable dummy account.
Only three people in the entire organization had the security clearance to know that money existed.
Arthur and Clara sat in the dark command center at three in the morning, watching the digital monitor like hawks.
“If nobody takes the bait, it means the leak is coming from an external hack,” Arthur whispered in the dark.
“It is not a hack,” Clara replied confidently.
“It is human greed, and human greed is completely predictable.”
At exactly 3:14 AM, the screen flashed red, indicating that a transfer protocol had been initiated.
Someone was trying to move the bait money into the New York shell account.
Arthur’s fingers flew across the keyboard, running a trace on the internal IP address accessing the server.
The location pin dropped onto the map, highlighting a guest house on the western edge of their own estate.
Arthur’s face turned into a mask of pure, unfiltered rage.
“It is Leo,” Arthur said, naming his oldest accountant, a man who had worked for his father.
Clara felt a pang of betrayal, but she did not let it cloud her judgment.
“Bring him here,” Clara ordered smoothly.
Ten minutes later, Marco dragged a terrified, pajama-clad Leo into the command center and threw him to the floor.
Leo was an older man, sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably as Arthur towered over him.
“Arthur, please, you have to understand!” Leo begged, crawling backward until his back hit the concrete wall.
“New York threatened my daughter!”
Arthur pulled his heavy pistol, pressing it directly against Leo’s forehead.
“You stole from my wife, Leo, and you gave our blood to our enemies,” Arthur hissed.
Clara stepped forward, gently pushing Arthur’s gun barrel down toward the floor.
“Killing him gives us nothing but a dead accountant,” Clara told her husband.
She knelt down in front of the sobbing man, looking him directly in his terrified eyes.
“Leo, if you want your daughter to live, you are going to do exactly what I say,” Clara commanded softly.
Leo nodded frantically, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.
“You are going to call Dominic right now.”
“You are going to tell him that Arthur has left the estate unguarded because he is secretly meeting a supplier at the shipyard.”
Arthur looked at Clara, suddenly realizing the sheer brilliance and danger of her plan.
“You are going to feed them a false location, and you are going to draw them out,” Arthur said, a predatory smile returning.
May you like
Clara stood up, smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt.
“It is time to take the war to them.”
