Chapter 4 - The Bait and the Trap
The confrontation came sooner than expected.
Three days later, Arthur Whitlock arrived at the Carver estate, flanked by two lawyers and a pair of corrupt police officers. They didn't knock; they used Claire’s old emergency key card to bypass the front gates, storming into the grand foyer.
"Daniel!" Arthur roared, his voice booming through the empty mansion. "Show yourself! You've ruined my daughter's reputation, and now you’re harboring a fugitive thief!"
Daniel descended the grand staircase, dressed in a sleek black suit, looking every bit the cold, untouchable billionaire the world feared. Behind him, standing on the landing out of sight, Hannah watched, her heart pounding.
"You're trespassing, Arthur," Daniel said coolly, stopping at the bottom step. "And your daughter's reputation was ruined the moment she showed her true, ugly nature in my ballroom."
"Don't play righteous with me, Carver," Arthur hissed, stepping forward and tossing a manila folder onto the marble floor. "Inside that folder are the transaction records of the offshore accounts. Your signature is on every single one. If you don't marry Claire by the end of the week and transfer fifty percent of the Carver Group’s shares to our family trust, this goes straight to the FBI."
Daniel looked down at the folder with mild amusement. "You think you can blackmail me with forged signatures?"
"They aren't forged in the eyes of the law," Arthur sneered. "They are your encrypted keys. You have no proof otherwise. And as for that little maid of yours... we know she was snooping. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll hand over whatever her brother gave her before she ended up like him."
Hannah’s breath hitched. Before she ended up like him. It was an admission of guilt.
Daniel’s expression didn't change, but his voice dropped to a level that made the air in the foyer feel like ice. "Where is Caleb, Arthur?"
"He’s in a safe place," Arthur laughed, thinking he had the upper hand. "A very quiet, very secure place. And he’ll stay there forever unless you sign the merger documents."
"I don't think so," Daniel said.
He pulled a small remote from his pocket and pressed a button. Instantly, the double doors of the formal dining room slid open. Two federal agents stepped out, followed by an IT specialist holding a laptop.
"Arthur Whitlock," the lead agent said, holding up a badge. "You are under arrest for conspiracy, corporate espionage, blackmail, and the kidnapping of Caleb Vance."
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Arthur’s face drained of color. "What... what is this? This is a setup!"
"The laptop in your hands," Daniel explained, pointing to Arthur’s lawyer who was holding a tablet. "We tracked the IP address of the cloned encryption key. The authorization commands weren't sent from my server. They were sent from your daughter’s laptop, which my security team recovered from her apartment last night. We have the digital footprint, Arthur. You’re done."
