Chapter 15 - The Phantom Ledger
I backed away from the server room door, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
The man we saw on the security feed entering the lobby was nothing more than a carefully positioned decoy.
David had anticipated my countermove and used a body double to distract me while he hunted us down.
"Get behind the server racks, Maya," Vance ordered, stepping smoothly into a tactical shooting stance.
The server room door slowly creaked open, the darkness of the hallway bleeding into the room.
Instead of a heavily armed hitman, a small, glowing digital tablet slid across the floor.
It stopped right at Vance's feet, the screen illuminating the dark room with a bright white document.
I cautiously peered over the metal server rack, my eyes locking onto the document displayed on the tablet.
It was a scanned copy of a heavily weathered, handwritten ledger.
I recognized the jagged, messy handwriting immediately.
It belonged to my late father.
"Do you finally understand what you are actually fighting for, Maya?" David's voice drifted from the dark hallway.
He was standing entirely out of sight, using the acoustics of the corridor to mask his exact location.
"Your beloved father did not build this company through hard work and determination."
I stared at the tablet, my stomach turning to pure ice as I read the names and numbers on the ledger.
It detailed massive, illegal offshore weapon shipments and brutal cartel payouts from thirty years ago.
"The thirty million dollars Julian tried to steal wasn't yours to begin with," David taunted.
"It was cartel blood money your father systematically laundered through this 'legitimate' corporation."
The terrifying truth completely shattered my perception of my entire life.
My inheritance, my beautiful restored house, my booming empire—all of it was built on a foundation of horrific violence.
"I am simply returning the funds to their rightful, extremely dangerous owners," David explained smoothly.
"If you let me walk away with the money, the cartel considers the debt settled, and you get to live."
"If you fight me, they will slaughter you and everyone you have ever cared about."
Vance kept his weapon raised, his eyes locked on the dark doorway.
"He is trying to negotiate because he doesn't actually have the money yet," Vance whispered to me.
"The federal release order he forged requires your biometric thumbprint to execute the final wire."
David needed me alive just long enough to unlock the massive digital vault.
I stepped out from behind the server racks, ignoring Vance's desperate attempt to pull me back.
"If you want my thumbprint, David," I yelled into the darkness, "you are going to have to come get it."
I grabbed the heavy metal handle of the server room's emergency fire axe and shattered the glass control panel on the wall.
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The entire fiftieth floor instantly locked down, dropping heavy titanium security gates over every single exit.
I had just trapped myself in a steel cage with a monster, and I was finally ready to end the game.
