Chapter 4 - The Phoenix Vault
My blood ran cold as I listened to Thomas explain the impossible security breach.
"How did he get past the biometric scanners without my physical presence?" I demanded softly into the burner phone.
Thomas explained that Samuel had presented a heavily forged power of attorney, signed by a corrupt federal judge.
"He drained the liquid assets and transferred the estate deed into a holding company," Thomas stammered.
I closed my eyes, fighting through the agonizing pain of my burns to keep my analytical mind focused.
They thought they had outsmarted me by stealing the physical paperwork, but they underestimated my legal brilliance.
"Thomas, initiate the Scorched Earth protocol immediately," I ordered without hesitation.
I heard Thomas gasp on the other end of the line, knowing exactly what that code phrase meant.
It was a hidden digital contingency plan that would freeze every shell company Samuel had ever created.
"It will take exactly twelve hours to process through the international banking servers," Thomas warned me.
I hung up the phone, knowing I just had to survive the night inside this hospital.
Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps stopping right outside my locked hospital door.
I slipped out of bed, ignoring the screaming agony in my shoulder, and checked the security monitor by the nurse's station through the window.
Joyce was standing at the end of the hallway, handing a massive stack of bills to the night nurse.
May you like
The nurse looked around nervously before sliding a master access keycard across the counter to my mother-in-law.
Joyce grabbed the keycard and turned toward my room with a horrifyingly familiar butcher knife in her hand.
