Chapter 28 - The Counter-Trap
"He wrote everything down?" Elena asked in sheer disbelief as she flipped through Javier’s notebook on the hood of her car. "He actually documented his conspiracy to commit arson and corporate sabotage?"
"Javier’s arrogance has always been his greatest weakness," Natalia said, looking at the red circle around her mother’s address. "He genuinely believes he is untouchable because he is hiding behind Salazar’s money. He thinks he is a mastermind."
"This notebook is pure gold," Elena said, her lawyer’s mind racing with lethal possibilities. "With this, we can go straight to the federal prosecutor. We can have Javier arrested by midnight."
"No," Natalia stated firmly, snatching the notebook back.
Elena looked at her, confused. "What do you mean, no? He is planning to attack your mother!"
"I have already placed armed guards at my mother's house. She is perfectly safe," Natalia explained, a cold, brilliant strategy forming in her mind. "If we arrest Javier now, Salazar’s high-priced lawyers will simply claim Javier was a rogue, disgruntled ex-husband acting entirely on his own. Salazar will cut him loose and walk away completely untouched. And he will keep coming for my building."
"So, how do we catch the shark and not just the remora?" Elena asked, leaning against the car.
"We give Salazar exactly what he wants," Natalia smiled—a dangerous, predatory expression. "We invite him to the table. We tell him the vandalism at the site broke me financially. We tell him I am ready to surrender and sign the building over to him. We get him in a room, on tape, admitting to the extortion."
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Elena grinned, recognizing the terrifying brilliance of the woman standing before her. "You want to wear a wire into a meeting with a cartel-backed real estate mogul?"
"I survived a marriage to a sociopath, Elena," Natalia said smoothly, opening the car door. "I can survive a boardroom meeting with a bully in a tailored suit. Call the federal prosecutor. Tell them we are setting up a sting."
