Chapter 7 - The Trojan Horse
The plan was a masterpiece of corporate sabotage. Sarah Jenkins spent weeks verifying the engineering data with independent, off-the-record structural experts. The flaw was undeniable. The Apex was a multi-billion dollar liability waiting to happen.
But they couldn't just publish an article; Sterling's lawyers would issue an immediate injunction. They needed to execute the strike exactly when Clara was most vulnerable—when the market opened on the day of the IPO, with maximum public visibility.
To do that, Elias needed access to the internal servers at Sterling Holdings to release the final, un-redacted architectural emails proving Clara knew about the steel downgrade. He couldn't hack it from the outside; Sterling's cybersecurity was military-grade.
"I have to go in," Elias told his small crew in his apartment.
May you like
"Are you insane?" Marcus countered. "If Sterling's security catches you in the building, they won't call the cops. They'll throw you off the roof."
"The IPO launch party is at The Apex penthouse tomorrow night," Elias said, pulling a sleek, forged access card from his pocket. "Everyone will be looking at Clara. No one will be looking at the server room on floor 98."
