Chapter 15 - The Boardroom Trap
The Miller Corporate boardroom was on the fiftieth floor, overlooking the gray, stormy city skyline.
Doctor Caldwell was already sitting at the head of the long glass table, wearing a tailored charcoal suit.
Evelyn stood directly behind him, her hands folded neatly in front of her.
"David," Caldwell smiled warmly as I walked in. "Please, take a seat. We have a lot of profitable business to conclude."
I sat at the opposite end of the table, feeling the wire pulling tight against my skin with every breath.
"I signed the physical deeds, Caldwell. But I'm not handing over the digital encryption keys for the shipping containers," I said, keeping my voice loud and clear for the microphone.
Caldwell’s smile vanished instantly.
He slowly folded his hands on the glass table.
"I don't think you understand your position in this arrangement, David," Caldwell said softly.
"I understand it perfectly," I pushed back, channeling every ounce of anger I had.
"You bribed Judge Harrison with a briefcase of cash to frame my parents and give me custody, just so you could extort my family's ports."
Evelyn stepped forward, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Say that again, Caldwell," I challenged. "Admit you're using my daughter's safety to extort a federal shipping lane."
Caldwell stared at me for a long, agonizing moment.
Then, to my absolute horror, he began to laugh.
It wasn't a nervous laugh. It was the laugh of a man who was always three steps ahead.
"You really think you're the first person to try and wear a wire into my meetings, David?" Caldwell sighed.
He reached under the glass table and pressed a hidden button.
A loud, piercing static feedback noise suddenly screamed in my earpiece.
"State-of-the-art signal jammers," Caldwell explained casually. "Your FBI friends in the van outside are listening to nothing but dead air right now."
My blood froze in my veins.
Evelyn locked the heavy boardroom doors and pulled a silenced pistol from her shoulder holster.
"You disappointed me, David," Caldwell said, standing up from his chair.
"But I always have a contingency plan."
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and slid it across the glass table toward me.
The screen was displaying a live video feed.
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It was Mia’s physical therapy room.
Two men in dark suits were standing right outside her door.
