Chapter 14 - The Setup
The plan was incredibly dangerous, requiring absolute precision and flawless execution. Julian instructed David to contact Elena on their encrypted burner phone and request an urgent, in-person meeting at her downtown apartment. David was to tell her that Julian’s accountants had flagged the massive offshore transfers meant for the settlement, and they needed to manually override the security protocols using her digital signature before Julian discovered the missing funds.
"She's paranoid, Julian," David warned, his hands trembling as he held the phone. "If she suspects a trap, she'll completely vanish and trigger the fail-safes to drain whatever is left in the accounts."
"She’s arrogant," Julian corrected him, pacing the floor of his study. "Arrogance always breeds carelessness. You tell her the transfer window closes in an hour. Create a sense of overwhelming panic. Make her believe the money is slipping through her fingers."
David made the call while Marcus traced the real-time audio. Elena, entirely blinded by her insatiable greed, took the bait. She agreed to meet David at the apartment at midnight to authorize the final digital transfer.
As soon as the call ended, Julian turned to Marcus. "Are the FBI agents in position?"
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"Special Agent Reyes is waiting in the surveillance van down the street," Marcus confirmed, checking his tactical tablet. "We’ve given them all the evidence of the embezzlement, the wire fraud, and the previous husband's suspicious death. The moment Elena logs into that offshore account to authorize the stolen funds, she commits a federal crime on an open, monitored network. They’ll have the digital footprint they need to arrest her immediately."
Julian looked at his watch. It was eleven-thirty. He had spent the last two weeks feeling like a victim, watching his daughter suffer under the psychological warfare of a monster. Tonight, he was taking back his home, his company, and his peace of mind. He wasn't just going to defeat Elena; he was going to completely obliterate her reality. "Let's go," Julian said, grabbing his coat. "I want to be there when they put the handcuffs on her."
