"At my son’s wedding, my wife came home shaking and whispered that she had only fallen. Two days later, the venue manager called and told me to come alone because they had rechecked the footage. When I saw what my son and his bride had done to her, I didn’t call them.

My entire world tilted on its axis as David’s familiar voice filled the freezing server room.

David, the man who had stood as the best man at my wedding and helped me build my company, was the mastermind.

He had manipulated Michael for years, slowly corrupting him and using him to steal our assets.

I stared up at the security camera in the corner, realizing the depth of his monumental betrayal.

David calmly explained that he needed the EMP to go off while I was locked inside the room.

The blast would fry the electronic locks, permanently trapping me inside to suffocate when he shut off the ventilation.

He would then frame me as a disgruntled employee engaging in corporate terrorism to cover up his own missing funds.

I looked down at the briefcase on the floor; the digital timer was rapidly counting down from seven minutes.

I frantically searched the room for anything heavy enough to smash the reinforced glass window on the door.

I grabbed a metal fire extinguisher from the wall and slammed it against the glass with all my strength.

The glass spider-webbed but refused to break, designed specifically to withstand explosions.

David laughed through the intercom, mocking my pathetic attempts to escape his perfect trap.

I realized physical force was entirely useless against a room built to protect billions of dollars.

I dropped the extinguisher and ran over to the explosive device.

I remembered Daniel mentioning that the EMP was triggered by a localized cellular signal attached to the timer.

I pulled out my pocket knife and began unscrewing the back panel of the explosive casing.

My hands shook wildly as the timer ticked down to three minutes.

I exposed a complex web of colored wires, completely unsure of which one controlled the detonation mechanism.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and used my accounting logic to trace the power source leading to the battery.

I sliced a thick blue wire just as the timer hit thirty seconds.

The digital screen instantly went dark, and the ominous humming of the device completely stopped.

I had successfully disarmed the bomb, but I was still locked inside a freezing vault with no escape.

David’s laughter abruptly stopped on the intercom, replaced by a string of furious curses.

He screamed that he was sending an armed security team up to the server room to kill me personally.

I heard the heavy footsteps of multiple men marching down the hallway outside my door.

I backed away into the shadows, gripping my pocket knife tightly and preparing for a hopeless fight.

The electronic lock beeped, and the heavy door slowly swung open to reveal the armed men.

The Billionaire Put On a Waiter’s Apron to Test His Fiancée, but the Wom...

My father bet twenty dollars that I would walk through his front door al...

My Husband Slapped Me Out of His House for His Mistress, Then the Most F...

Before they could raise their weapons, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the stairwell behind them.

The guards collapsed to the floor, revealing Daniel standing in the doorway, bleeding but holding a tactical rifle.

Chapter 7 - The Mastermind's Trap