Chapter 9 - THE WAR ROOM AT STERLING MANOR
Julian played the recorded tape three times, his face devoid of emotion as the scope of the conspiracy fully crystallized.
"You saved my family, Mrs. Gable," Julian said softly, placing a comforting hand on the elderly nanny's shoulder.
"I promised your late wife I would protect this family with my life, sir," Mrs. Gable replied, wiping away a tear.
Julian immediately summoned his head of corporate intelligence, a former CIA operative named Richard Vance.
Richard unrolled a schematic diagram of Marcus Cole's Manhattan headquarters across the library conference table.
"Marcus is using Victoria to legitimize his hostile takeover bid at the upcoming shareholder meeting next Tuesday," Richard explained.
"They believe they hold the upper hand because they have those stolen server files," Julian stated, a dangerous smile touching his lips.
"Should I send a team to retrieve the flash drive?" Richard asked, his voice steady and professional.
"No," Julian replied, leaning over the table. "Let them think the drive contains real financial data instead of the honeypot trap I set six months ago."
In his luxury Manhattan penthouse, Marcus plugged the stolen flash drive into his high-security network terminal.
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A green progress bar filled the screen as files began executing, completely unaware that a malicious code was quietly altering his company's ledger.
***
