Chapter 3: The Hidden Poison
The tension in the room spiked. If the ruby was the distraction, what was the real crime?
Elias didn't wait for the question. He signaled to the staff entrance. Moments later, the heavy oak doors burst open, and a team of agents in tactical gear flooded the mansion. They weren't heading for the ballroom; they were heading for the library—the room where Evelyn held her private meetings with international tech brokers.
"For the last six months," Elias announced, his voice carrying to the back of the room, "we’ve been investigating the 'Philanthropy Foundation' managed by this estate. We weren't looking for jewelry. We were looking for the illegal transfer of restricted navigation software to foreign actors."
The crowd gasped. The Vanderbilt name was synonymous with charity, not treason.
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"The gala was the cover," Elias explained, locking eyes with Evelyn. "You needed the house cleared of its usual security protocols so your couriers could move the data servers out the back way. You framed your assistant to force a scene, hoping the local police would swarm the front entrance and create the chaos your couriers needed to slip out the side. It was a clever play, Evelyn. Too bad you didn't know we were already inside the walls."
Evelyn slumped. Her arrogance had been her armor, and it had just been shattered.
