Chapter 7 - The Digital Ransom
I woke up in a dark, damp room that smelled strongly of salt and decaying wood.
My hands were zip-tied to a heavy metal pipe running along the concrete wall.
Through a small, grimy window, I could hear the crashing waves of the ocean.
Vance was sitting at a wooden table nearby, typing furiously on a sleek laptop.
He noticed I was awake and turned the screen toward me with a cruel smile.
He showed me the banking terminal where he was systematically emptying my father’s corporate accounts.
I coughed to clear the chemical taste from my mouth and told him he was making a mistake.
I explained that I had set a dead-man’s switch on the forensic auditing software attached to the main servers.
If I did not input a biometric bypass code within twelve hours, the system would automatically alert the FBI and the SEC.
Vance laughed, calling my bluff, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of genuine anxiety.
I recited the exact routing numbers he was trying to hide, proving I knew his entire financial network.
His smile vanished, and he slammed his fist onto the wooden table.
He walked over, grabbed my hair, and demanded the bypass code.
I told him I would only give it to him if he let me walk away with the coastal properties untouched.
Vance pulled a switchblade from his pocket and pressed it against my throat.
He said I was in no position to negotiate terms with a dead man.
Suddenly, the wooden door of the shed burst open with a deafening crash.
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Adrian stood in the doorway, bleeding from his shoulder, holding Vance’s dropped handgun.
He pointed the trembling weapon directly at my chest instead of Vance.
