Chapter 10 - The Scent of Betrayal-10
"Drop it, doctor," Julianna Vance said, stepping through the ruined doorway, her high heels stepping over the shattered glass and the groaning tactical operators on the floor. She held a sleek, black tablet in her hand, her eyes locked onto the screen. "The transfer is locked. Your sister’s little laptop was destroyed by the bullet fire, but the main server directory is still intact. Ethan, secure the briefcase data drive before the 6:00 a.m. wipe initiates."
Ethan kept the pistol pressed against my head, using his other hand to pull the small, integrated data drive from the briefcase sitting on the desk. He tossed the drive to Julianna, who caught it with a cold, professional satisfaction.
"Now," Julianna said, looking down at me with a chilling detachment. "Let’s talk about clean-up. Ethan, your wife and her brother had a tragic accident while trying to hide from the law in an abandoned industrial foundry. The facility suffered a catastrophic electrical fire due to the storm. It’s a very simple story. One that the state police will confirm before dawn."
"You won't get away with this, Julianna," I whispered, the blood from my split lip dripping down my chin onto Ethan's hand. "The Delaware audit... it didn't just send the files to my laptop. The moment the download hit eighty percent, an automated mirror array broadcast the raw Cyprus ledger data to every major news outlet in the country via an encrypted decentralized blockchain network. You didn't just lose the files, Julianna. The world already knows who owns those accounts."
Julianna’s face drained of color. She lunged toward her tablet, her fingers flying across the screen as she checked the external network monitors. A second later, her eyes widened in pure, unadulterated panic.
"She’s telling the truth," Julianna gasped, her voice trembling for the first time. "The data... it’s on the public wires. The AP. The Times. The Governor’s office is already being hit with emergency press inquiries."
She looked at Ethan, her expression shifting from cold authority to a terrifying, desperate self-preservation. "Ethan, we have to go. Now. My father is already coordinating a private flight out of the state line. If we're caught here with the bodies, there’s no political protection left in the world that can save us."
"No," Ethan growled, his grip tightening on my hair, his knuckles turning white as he pressed the pistol harder against my skull. "I’m not running like a rat while she stays here to inherit everything I built. I’m finishing this, Julianna."
"If you pull that trigger, Ethan," Liam’s voice rang out through the smoky room, deadly calm and steady as he stepped forward, his weapon still raised. "The tactical operators outside won't save you. I will personally tear you apart before you can take another breath. Look at the entrance monitor behind you."
Ethan’s eyes flickered toward the corner screen.
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Through the rain and the darkness of the courtyard, a massive fleet of white federal SUVs had just torn through the outer perimeter wall. Dozens of heavily armed agents wearing blue jackets with the letters FBI emblazoned across their chests were flooding the foundry floor, their tactical flashlights cutting through the gloom like the hand of God.
Julianna didn't wait for Ethan to answer. She turned and sprinted out of the server room, disappearing into the dark maintenance tunnels that led to the canal exit, abandoning him without a single backward glance.
