Chapter 7: The Ambush at Pier 42**
Rain poured relentlessly over the rusted metal roofs of Pier 42 as twilight descended. Victoria stepped out of her car into the cold drizzle, holding a leather briefcase tightly against her chest.
The warehouse doors creaked open as two armed men in dark raincoats motioned for her to enter. Inside, illuminated by a single flickering floodlight, Elena was tied to a wooden chair, her face bruised and her breathing shallow. Richard stood nearby, pacing nervously with a loaded revolver tucked into his belt.
“You always had to be the righteous one, didn't you, Victoria?” Richard spat, his eyes wild with manic frustration. “You destroyed twenty billion dollars of enterprise value in five minutes!”
“Let her go, Richard,” Victoria said, walking forward slowly. “The documents are in this briefcase. The flash drive with the original digital backups is inside. Nobody else has the decryption keys.”
“Sign this first,” Richard said, kicking a folding table toward her. On it lay a legal affidavit declaring Victoria’s boardroom statement to be a fabricated hallucination caused by stress.
Elena struggled against her ropes, her voice muffled but desperate. “Don’t sign it, Clara! He’s going to kill us anyway!”
One of the thugs moved forward to strike Elena, but Victoria lunged instantly. “Touch her again, and I’ll throw this drive into the industrial incinerator behind me!” she roared, pulling a small silver drive from her pocket and holding it over an open heat grate.
Richard raised his hands quickly. “Wait! Don’t do that. Just sign the papers, give me the drive, and you both walk out of here. I just want my company back.”
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Victoria picked up the pen, staring deep into Richard’s eyes. She knew him too well. He had never left a loose end in his entire life.
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