Chapter 6: The Setup

The strategy was executed with military precision. Alexander forced Olivia to remain in the mansion under strict round-the-clock guard by Marcus’s team. Her phone was mirrored, her communications intercepted, and her handler—who went by the codename "Ares"—was led to believe that the wedding had proceeded as planned and that the secondary data transfer was imminent.
For three tense days, the Blackwood Estate became a command center. Federal agents from the Financial Crimes Division quietly moved into the guest house, monitoring every signal coming out of the property.
Alexander barely slept. He spent his nights in the dark mahogany walk-in closet, staring at the empty drawer where the truth had been concealed. He thought about the laughter they had shared, the quiet mornings on the yacht in Martha's Vineyard, the promises made under star-filled skies. Every memory felt tainted, poisoned by calculated deceit.
Maya often came in to find him, holding her brown teddy bear.
"Uncle Alex?" she asked softly one evening, sitting beside him on the leather bench. "Are you sad because Auntie Olivia was bad?"
Alexander looked down at his tiny niece, his expression softening instantly. He pulled her into a warm hug, resting his chin on her soft blonde hair.
"I’m not sad, sweetheart," Alexander lied gently. "I’m thankful. You saved us, Maya. You were braver than anyone in this house."
"The bear saw her hide the box," Maya whispered, lifting the stuffed toy. "He told me it was a bad secret."
Meanwhile, down in the holding room, Olivia’s resolve was crumbling. Without her luxury lifestyle, faced with the prospect of twenty years in a federal penitentiary, she began to realize that her handler, Ares, had no intention of saving her.
"He’s going to kill me," Olivia told Marcus during an interrogation session. "Once he realizes the data feed is corrupted, he won't leave a witness."
"Then give us his real name," Alexander said, stepping into the room, his shadow falling long across the concrete floor. "Give me the man on my board, and I’ll ensure the prosecutor takes the death penalty off the table."
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Olivia looked up at Alexander, her eyes filled with a mixture of hatred, regret, and survival instinct.
"It’s Richard Vance," she whispered. "Your senior vice president. Your father’s oldest friend."