Chapter 5 - The Offensive
Elias took me to a safe house in upstate New York, a heavily fortified cabin deep in the Adirondacks.
It was outfitted with server racks, satellite internet, and a wall of monitors.
"Tyler gave me a backdoor into the system he's building," Elias explained, typing rapidly on a keyboard.
"He's siphoning the syndicate's money out of Harrison's accounts and donating it to thousands of anonymous charities worldwide. Small increments. Unnoticeable at first."
"But when will they notice?" I asked, staring at the lines of code cascading down the screens.
"Soon. Which is why we have to deliver the kill shot."
Elias handed me a secure satellite phone.
"I have the District Attorney of the Southern District of New York on standby. He's been trying to nail Harrison for five years but never had the paper trail."
"And we have it," I said, pointing to Tyler's hard drive.
"Exactly. But handing it over isn't enough. We need Harrison on US soil to be arrested, and we need Tyler out of that hotel room safely."
"How do we do that?"
Elias smiled grimly. "We freeze Harrison out. The moment his credit cards decline, the moment his Swiss banker tells him his accounts are locked by federal mandate, he'll panic."
"He'll try to run," I argued.
"No," Elias countered. "Harrison is arrogant. He believes his wealth makes him untouchable. If his money is threatened, he'll fly back to New York to personally threaten his bankers and fixers. He won't leave Tyler in Geneva because Tyler is his alibi as a 'devoted father' for the press."
It was a massive risk. If Harrison realized Tyler was the leak, my son was dead.
"Do it," I ordered, my voice steady. "Send the files to the DA."
Elias hit enter.
Thousands of pages of financial crimes, wire fraud, and money laundering schemes transferred into the hands of the federal government.
Now, we just had to wait.
Thirty minutes later, the burner phone in my pocket vibrated.
I yanked it out. It was a restricted number.
"Mom?"
It was Tyler. His voice was a panicked whisper.
"Tyler! Baby, are you okay?"
"Mom, Dad is losing his mind. He just threw a glass across the room. His accounts are frozen. He's screaming at his lawyer on the phone."
"Listen to me," I said, tears blurring my vision. "You did perfectly. But you need to stay calm. Do not let him know you had anything to do with this."
"I wiped my laptop. I encrypted everything," Tyler said, his breathing shallow.
"He's packing our bags. He says we have to fly back to New York immediately. He said there's a misunderstanding with the bank."
"Tyler, when you land at JFK, do exactly what Elias told you to do. Run to the nearest TSA agent and drop the red token."
"I will, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, my brave boy."
May you like
The line went dead. The trap was set.
Now, the jaws just had to snap shut.
