Chapter 5 - The First Strike
I didn't go for my mother immediately. You don't fight a dragon head-on. You strip away its armor first.
My first target was Captain Miller. I didn't use violence. I used the one thing Vance money couldn't protect against: exposure. I anonymously sent a package to the Internal Affairs Bureau and every major news outlet in the city. It contained Miller's offshore bank statements and the falsified crash report of Lena’s accident.
By noon the next day, it was breaking news. NYPD CAPTAIN IMPLICATED IN BRIBERY SCANDAL.
I was sitting in my mother’s office when the news broke on her television screen. I watched her face carefully. Eleanor Vance didn't flinch. She just narrowed her eyes.
“Such a shame,” she murmured, sipping her tea. “Miller was a useful man. It seems he got sloppy with his side businesses.”
She didn't know the leak was about Lena. Not yet. The news hadn't released the specifics of the falsified report, only the financial crimes.
“Will this affect our security contracts?” I asked innocently.
“No, Daniel. The Vance name is insulated. Always.”
But she was rattled. I could tell by the way her fingers tapped against the mahogany desk. Ten minutes later, her private line rang. She picked it up, turned her back to me, and spoke in hushed, urgent tones.
I walked out of her office, pulling out my burner phone. “Victor. Target two. Dr. Thorne.”
That evening, the medical board received a comprehensive dossier on Dr. Thorne’s illegal practices, complete with audio recordings Victor had hacked from the doctor's own blackmail files. Thorne’s license was suspended pending a criminal investigation before the sun set.
Two pillars down.
When I returned home, Lena was pacing. “It’s all over the news,” she said. “Daniel, she’s going to realize someone is targeting her network.”
“That’s the point,” I said, taking off my jacket. “I want her paranoid. I want her making mistakes.”
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed. My head of security’s voice came through, tense and tight. “Mr. Vance. We have a problem downstairs. Trent is here. Your mother’s head of security. He’s demanding to come up.”
May you like
Lena froze. Grace started to cry.
They had found us.
