Chapter 8 - Cornered Traitors
The penthouse apartment Victoria rented in the downtown arts district was bought with the 'wedding allowance' I had foolishly provided her over the past six months. It was a glass-and-steel monument to excess, filled with designer furniture and expensive artwork.
At four in the morning, the private elevator hummed to a stop, opening directly into her foyer.
Victoria and Richard were sitting at the Italian marble kitchen island, surrounded by empty wine bottles, two laptops open in front of them, arguing heatedly over a spread of financial ledgers.
When I stepped out of the elevator, flanked by Marcus and two armed security personnel, Victoria jumped up so fast her chair overturned, crashing loudly against the hardwood floor.
"Julian?!" she shrieked, clutching a glass of wine to her chest. "How did you get up here?! This is illegal entry!"
"I own the building, Victoria," I said casually, walking into the kitchen and running my fingers along the smooth edge of the counter. "I bought the mezzanine and penthouse units three months ago as a wedding gift for you. I guess I forgot to mention I still held the master security codes."
Richard stood up slowly. He was a sleek, greasy man in his early fortnight, wearing an unbuttoned silk shirt and gold chain, his eyes filled with a mixture of arrogance and desperation.
"You're out of your depth, Vance," Richard sneered, stepping in front of Victoria. "You think having a few security guards makes you tough? We have your files. In five hours, when Wall Street opens, we upload the stolen consortium data. Your board will fire you before noon."
"Go ahead," I said softly, pulling out a stool and sitting down across from them. "Upload it."
Richard blinked, caught off guard by my absolute composure. "Don't bluff me, Vance!"
"I'm not bluffing, Richard," I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the marble. "The files Victoria stole three weeks ago were honeypot drafts designed to track internal data leaks. The moment you transmit those files to your offshore brokers, an automated alert triggers an immediate trade halt by the SEC."
Victoria’s eyes darted frantically toward the laptop screen. "Richard... is he telling the truth?"
"He's lying!" Richard yelled, though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "He's trying to scare us!"
"You tried to extortion twenty million dollars from me on an recorded line at ten o'clock tonight," I continued, pulling a small silver recorder from my pocket and placing it on the counter. "Extortion, corporate theft, conspiracy, and wire fraud. That carries a mandatory minimum of fifteen years in a federal penitentiary."
Victoria’s glass slipped from her fingers, shattering against the floor, red wine spilling like blood across the white marble.
"Julian... please..." she choked out, dropping to her knees right there in the mess of broken glass, grabbing at the hem of my trousers just as she had done on the altar. "It was Richard! He forced me into this! He threatened me! He said he would ruin my family if I didn't get your money!"
"You lying bitch!" Richard roared, lunging toward her, but Marcus caught him instantly by the collar, slamming him face-first onto the island and pinning his arms behind his back.
"I heard your voice through that door, Victoria," I said down to her, my heart entirely dead to her tears. "You talked about my son like he was trash to be discarded. You looked at my grief and saw an opportunity."
The elevator chimed again.
Four uniformed officers from the Boston Police Department, accompanied by two federal agents from the FBI, stepped into the room.
"Victoria Vance—or rather, Victoria Croft," the lead federal agent declared, pulling out a pair of steel handcuffs. "And Richard Vance. You are both under arrest for federal extortion and conspiracy to commit wire fraud."
May you like
As the cold steel snapped around Victoria’s wrists, she looked at me with pure, pathetic terror. "Julian! Don't let them take me! I loved you! I really did!"
"You loved my company," I corrected softly as the agents dragged her toward the elevator. "Enjoy the view from your new room."
