Chapter 15 - The Trap
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The intruder stared at the empty safe, his eyes widening as the realization dawned on him. He had broken into one of the most secure estates in California for absolutely nothing, and now he was going to federal prison.
"Your boss is going to be very disappointed," I said softly, closing the heavy steel door. I turned back to the man tied to the chair. "And Volkov is not a man who handles disappointment well, is he?"
The man swallowed hard, fear finally breaking through his hardened exterior. "He'll kill her. If the debt isn't paid tonight, he'll kill Chloe."
I didn't care about Chloe's fate, but I cared deeply about a violent loan shark believing my estate was an open ATM. If Volkov didn't get his money, he would keep sending men to my house. I needed to end this threat permanently.
"I have a proposition for you," I told the intruder, leaning forward. "You are going to use that burner phone to call Chloe. You are going to tell her that the safe requires dual authentication. You need her fingerprint to open it."
Hector looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Sir, you want to bring her back here?"
"I want to bring all of them here," I corrected, my voice turning to ice. I looked back at the intruder. "Tell Chloe to meet you here, and tell her to bring Volkov's lieutenant to verify the cash. You lure them onto my property, and I will hand you over to the police for simple trespassing instead of attempted murder."
The man didn't have to think about it. He nodded frantically. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it."
Under Hector's watchful eye, the intruder made the call. He fed Chloe the lie perfectly, his voice tight with manufactured urgency.
"I'm at the estate, but the safe has a biometric lock," he lied into the phone. "I need you here to open it, Chloe. Bring the Russians to verify the pickup, or this whole deal goes south."
"I'm ten minutes away," Chloe whispered back, sounding frantic. "I'll be there."
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I hung up the phone and looked at Hector.
"Evacuate the girls and Marisol to the safe room in the basement," I commanded. "Then, arm every single guard we have. We are about to catch a rat in a very large trap."
