Chapter 7: The Counter-Strategy**
Elena immediately called Julian, arranging an emergency meeting at a quiet, family-owned diner far from the financial district. When Julian arrived, he found Elena staring intently at her laptop, surrounded by legal statutes and financial printouts.
"I heard about St. Jude's," Julian said, taking a seat across from her. "I have already arranged for personal funds to cover Sofia's treatment at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Clara cannot touch her there."
Elena looked up, her eyes fierce with emotion. "Thank you, Julian. But running away to Baltimore won't stop Clara. She will keep striking until she destroys everything we care about."
"So what do you propose?"
"We play into her hands," Elena said, turning her laptop screen toward him. "She wants me to meet Sterling at midnight to hand over the flash drive. We give them the drive—but not the real one."
Julian raised an eyebrow, a spark of intrigue in his eyes. "A honeypot?"
"The drive will contain the financial records, but with embedded metadata tracking software," Elena explained. "The moment Sterling opens it and transfers the funds to their offshore accounts to erase the trail, it will trigger an automated distress report directly to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)."
Julian smiled faintly, genuine admiration in his eyes. "Elena, you aren't just an accountant. You're a master strategist."
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"My mother taught me that bullies only win when you play by their rules," Elena replied. "Tonight, we write the rules."
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