Chapter 5 - The Trap
Ethan didn't sleep that night. He plugged the USB drive into his laptop. It contained gigabytes of encrypted files, recordings, and financial trails proving that Vanguard Corp had hired Richard to infiltrate Sarah’s life, believing she still had backdoor access to Ethan’s corporate servers. When Sarah discovered the plot, Richard had violently silenced her.
Ethan sent the files to his private investigators and the FBI before the sun even rose.
But Richard was desperate. A desperate man with nothing left to lose is the most dangerous kind.
At 6:00 AM, the fire alarms in St. Anne’s Medical Center began blaring. Strobe lights flashed, and automated voices instructed everyone to evacuate. It was chaos. Nurses rushed through the halls; patients were being wheeled out.
Ethan’s instincts flared. It’s a distraction.
“Stay exactly where you are,” Ethan ordered his security guards outside the door. He locked the suite from the inside, scooped Maya into his arms, and stood in front of Lily’s crib.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door to the VIP suite rattled. Someone was trying to pick the electronic lock. The security guards outside shouted, followed by the sound of a scuffle and a heavy thud.
The door burst open. Richard stood there, dressed in a stolen paramedic uniform, holding a silenced handgun.
“You’ve ruined everything, Cole,” Richard spat, aiming the gun at Ethan’s chest. “The drive. Hand it over, and I’ll let you and the brats walk out of here. If Vanguard finds out I failed, they’ll kill me. So I have no problem killing you first.”
Maya screamed, burying her face into Ethan’s neck. Ethan’s mind raced. He was a master chess player in the boardroom, and he needed to apply that same strategy right now to save his children.
“The drive is already gone, Richard,” Ethan said, his voice eerily calm. He slowly set Maya down behind him, shielding her completely. “I sent it to the FBI an hour ago. Vanguard’s CEO is probably in handcuffs as we speak.”
Richard’s face contorted in panic. “You’re lying!”
“Look at your phone,” Ethan challenged. “Check the news. My company just initiated a hostile takeover of Vanguard based on corporate espionage charges. It’s over.”
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Richard instinctively glanced down at his pocket.
It was a split-second distraction. And it was all Ethan needed.
