Chapter 2 - The Trap is Set
Elena stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
"Let them steal more?" she asked, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Are you insane? They've already drained four million. The assault charges alone will put Derek in cuffs before breakfast."
"If we arrest him for assault now, he’ll hire the best defense lawyers in the state," I explained, sitting up slowly. My knee throbbed, but my mind was crystal clear.
"He'll claim it was a domestic dispute," I continued. "He’ll claim the financial transfers were authorized verbal gifts from my father before he died. He will drag this out in civil court for a decade."
Elena crossed her arms, the crisp lines of her tailored suit shifting. She was the best corporate litigator in the city, and a loyal friend to my late father.
"So, what is this 'one more thing'?" she asked, leaning against the edge of my hospital bed.
"When I was auditing the books, I found something Derek missed," I said. "My father had a private venture capital fund. A ghost account used for holding liquid assets before major acquisitions. It has eight million dollars in it."
Elena gasped. "Eight million? And Derek doesn't know?"
"He didn't. Until last night," I said, allowing a cold smile to touch my lips.
"While he thought I was crying in the bedroom, I left a printed ledger of that exact account on the desk in the downstairs office. The same office he ordered me to clean."
Elena's eyes lit up with sudden realization. "The investor meeting at eight a.m."
"Exactly," I nodded. "Derek is meeting with private equity sharks to sell my father's company for parts. When he goes into that office this morning and sees that ledger, greed will blind him."
"He'll try to wire it to Marlene's offshore accounts before the sale goes through," Elena finished the thought, a predatory grin spreading across her face.
"Yes. But to move money from a federally insured domestic venture fund to a foreign shell company without dual-signature authorization isn't just embezzlement," I said softly.
"It's federal wire fraud," Elena whispered.
"And I set up a silent alarm on the routing number," I confirmed. "The moment he clicks 'transfer,' the funds won't actually move. Instead, the transaction will freeze, log his IP address, and immediately alert the FBI’s cybercrime division."
Elena pulled out her phone. "I'm calling the federal prosecutor's office. We need to be ready the second he takes the bait."
I lay back against the pillows, staring at the sterile white ceiling of the hospital room.
For two years, I had been a victim. A punching bag for Derek’s rage and a stepping stone for Marlene’s vanity.
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They thought I was weak because I chose silence over screaming.
They didn't understand that silence is how a predator hunts.
