Chapter 4 - The Bait and the Trap
Forty-eight hours later, the upper West Side of Manhattan was choked with evening traffic.
Inside the sleek, glass-walled conference room of the Blackwood Group, Julian sat at the head of the table. Across from him sat four high-ranking foreign investors and Victoria Sterling, who was reviewing a massive stack of acquisition contracts.
"The police are controlling the media," Victoria said smoothly, sliding a pen toward Julian. "Elena’s car was found near the river. The public believes she jumped. In another twenty-four hours, we can file the petition to declare her legally deceased and take full control of her personal trust shares."
Julian picked up the pen, his face expressionless. "Has Marcus found her body?"
"Not yet," Victoria admitted, her eyes cooling. "The current in the Hudson is strong. But even if she survived, she has no money, no identity, and nowhere to go."
Suddenly, Julian’s private phone vibrated on the glass table.
It was an encrypted video call.
Julian frowned, signaling Victoria to stay quiet. He tapped the screen.
The image cleared, revealing a small, dimly lit room. Sitting in a chair in front of a concrete wall was Elena. She looked thin, her collarbone bruised, but her eyes held a fiery, dangerous calm that Julian had never seen in her before.
"Hello, Julian," she said.
Julian’s posture straightened instantly. His mask of composure slipped for a fraction of a second. "Elena. You are making a terrible mistake. The police are searching for you everywhere. You’re facing life in prison."
"We both know I didn't kill Sarah, Julian," Elena replied, her voice ringing clearly through the speaker. "You had Marcus execute her in her apartment because she found out about Operation Nightingale."
Victoria’s head snapped toward the phone. Operation Nightingale was the code name for the illegal offshore transfer scheduled to move three billion dollars at midnight tonight.
"What do you want, Elena?" Julian asked, his voice dropping into a lethal whisper.
"I want my freedom," Elena stated. "I have the notebook. I have the drive Sarah gave me with the master cryptographic keys. Meet me at the old iron foundry in Queens in one hour. Come alone. You give me five million in bearer bonds and a clean passport, and I give you the keys. If you don't show up, I hit 'send' on a broadcast file addressed to thirty federal news outlets."
The call disconnected.
Julian sat in silence for five seconds. A dark, terrifying smile spread across his handsome face.
"She’s desperate," Julian murmured, standing up and buttoning his jacket. "She’s cornered and making novice mistakes. She thinks she can blackmail me."
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"It’s a trap, Julian," Victoria warned, standing up beside him. "She was an investigative journalist. She knows how to build a case."
"It doesn't matter if it’s a trap," Julian said coldly, pulling a small silver pistol from his desk drawer. "Marcus and two tactical teams will surround the foundry before I even step out of the car. Tonight, Mrs. Blackwood finally suffers her tragic accident."
