Chapter 4 - The Midnight Heist
I stared blankly at the highly incriminating photographs scattered across Mr. Sterling’s mahogany desk.
They clearly showed Alexander signing documents that authorized millions of dollars in illegal offshore wire transfers.
"Bianca maliciously slipped those papers into a large stack of routine engineering contracts," Mr. Sterling explained.
"Alexander signed them quickly without looking, completely trusting his own wife."
My blood boiled with a fiery rage I had never experienced before in my entire life.
"Ewald is using these exact documents to blackmail him," I said, putting the sinister pieces together.
"Ewald’s own rival engineering company is failing rapidly, and he desperately needs Alexander’s latest design to save himself."
Mr. Sterling nodded slowly, his expression incredibly grim and serious.
"The master blueprint is stored in a highly secure subterranean vault at Alexander’s firm," he said.
"Ewald wants Alexander to steal it tonight and hand it over, or he leaks these edited photos to the federal authorities."
I tightened my grip on my handbag, my mind racing with dangerous possibilities.
"Why do you need my help to break in and steal it?" I asked him directly.
"Because you know the layout of that exact building better than anyone else on this planet," Mr. Sterling replied.
"You cleaned every single inch of it for forty straight years, Helga."
He was absolutely right, as I knew the blind spots of the cameras, the guard schedules, and the hidden maintenance shafts.
"If we steal it first, Ewald gets nothing, and we have the ultimate leverage to destroy him," Mr. Sterling urged.
I agreed without a second of hesitation, ready to do whatever it took to save my innocent boy.
By midnight, I was dressed in a dark security uniform completely provided by Mr. Sterling’s tactical team.
We bypassed the heavy front gates of the firm using an old, forgotten service tunnel I used to take out the trash.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs as we sneaked past the sleeping night watchman.
We successfully reached the sub-level vault with only three minutes to spare on the guard's patrol clock.
Mr. Sterling swiftly used a high-tech hacking device on the electronic keypad lock.
The heavy steel door clicked loudly and swung open with a quiet, mechanical hum.
I stepped inside boldly, heading straight for the secure silver server where the blueprints were kept.
We quickly downloaded the large files onto an encrypted flash drive just as the hallway alarms suddenly blared.
Blinding red lights flashed wildly, illuminating the dark vault in a highly menacing glow.
"Someone manually tripped the silent alarm upstairs," Mr. Sterling yelled over the deafening noise.
We rushed out of the vault and ducked quickly behind a tall row of computer server racks.
Heavy, frantic footsteps echoed loudly down the concrete corridor, coming straight toward us.
I peered cautiously around the corner, fully expecting to see heavily armed security guards.
Instead, I saw Alexander walking down the stairs, carrying a heavy steel crowbar.
He looked absolutely desperate, terrified, and completely alone in the world.
"Alexander," I whispered, stepping out carefully from the shadows.
He dropped the crowbar in pure shock, staring at me like he had just seen a ghost.
"Mom?" he choked out. "What on earth are you doing here?"
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Before I could even open my mouth to answer, the freezing cold barrel of a gun pressed hard against the back of my neck.
"She is just leaving," Ewald’s sinister voice hissed directly from behind me.
