Chapter 9
The basement office of Marcus Vance smelled of old paper, developer chemicals, and decades of forgotten history.
Rows of metal filing cabinets lined the concrete walls, and a massive corkboard covered in red string mapped out Victoria Vance's sprawling business empire.
Leo plugged the small black flash drive into Marcus's heavily encrypted desktop computer.
A progress bar filled the screen as Marcus’s custom software began decrypting the files, extracting the hidden emails, architectural blueprints, and financial ledgers.
The waitress stood behind Marcus's chair, watching the lines of data scroll past with bated breath.
"This is incredible," Marcus muttered, his eyes widening as he opened a specific spreadsheet. "These aren't just plans for a demolition. These are records of illegal kickbacks paid to city zoning commissioners."
"Can we use this to shut her down legally?" Leo asked, leaning over the desk anxiously.
"We can," Marcus replied, typing furiously on his keyboard to back up the data to an off-site secure server. "But Victoria isn't going to sit back and wait for a subpoena. She has powerful friends in the judicial system who can freeze our efforts overnight."
"Then what is our next move, Marcus?" the waitress asked, her voice steady and resolute.
"We hit her where it hurts the most—her upcoming shareholders' gala tomorrow night," Marcus said, spinning his chair around to face them. "That's where she plans to announce the illegal acquisition of the city block. If we expose her live on stage in front of every major investor and media outlet, she won't be able to buy her way out of it."
"A public takedown," Leo murmured, a slow smile spreading across his face. "It's risky, but it's brilliant."
"It's extremely dangerous," Marcus corrected, his expression turning grave. "Victoria's security team will be heavily armed, and she will have local police on high alert for both of you. You'll need to sneak inside the gala undetected."
The waitress nodded without a moment of hesitation, knowing there was no turning back from this path.
"I still have my uniform from the bistro. No one looks twice at a catering worker carrying a tray."
Marcus stared at her for a long moment, a look of deep respect replacing his professional skepticism.
"Alright. We play it your way. Tomorrow night, we bring down Victoria Vance once and for all."
As Marcus reached out to eject the flash drive, the computer screen suddenly flashed a violent shade of crimson.
May you like
A warning prompt appeared, overriding the desktop interface with a terrifying message written in bold white text.
We know where you are. Surrender the drive now, or the bistro burns tonight.
