Chapter 6 - The Trap Is Set
Marcus gestured urgently for me to follow her through a maze of heavy laundry carts and exposed piping. Ryan rustled in my arms, letting out a soft moan, but Marcus gently placed a warm hand on his forehead.
"He's going to be okay," Marcus said softly, her tough exterior softening for a second. "The toxin is out of his system. He just needs rest and clean air."
We reached a heavy metal door marked Loading Dock - Authorized Personnel Only. Marcus swiped a master bypass keycard, and the door clicked open, revealing the cool night air. Parked in the shadowed bay was a dark green delivery van with faded lettering on the side.
She slid the side door open. Inside was a makeshift mobile command center: monitors, signal scramblers, and a small cot fitted with clean blankets and a medical monitor.
"Put him here," Marcus instructed.
I laid Ryan down gently, tucking the blankets around his small shoulders. He blinked up at me sleepily. "Mommy... are we safe?"
"We are getting safe, baby," I whispered, kissing his forehead. "Just rest. Mommy is right here."
I closed the van door and turned to Marcus, my chest heaving as the adrenaline booster began to show its first signs of wearing off—a dull ache creeping back into my joints.
"You knew he was going to poison us tonight," I said, anger mingling with my confusion. "Why didn't you stop him before we ate?"
"Because Ethan had covered every track," Marcus said calmly, turning a screen toward me. "If I had called the police beforehand, Ethan would have claimed I was a crazy stalker—which is exactly what his lawyers would tell a judge. He had forged your medical records to show a history of severe mental instability. He had forged your signature on a confession letter he was planning to plant in your desk after you died."
She pressed a button, bringing up a high-resolution document on the screen. It was a note, typed and bearing a digital replica of my signature, declaring that I couldn't handle life anymore and was taking Ryan with me.
A sickening chill washed over me. "He thought of everything."
"Almost everything," Marcus corrected with a tight, cold smile. "He didn't account for the fact that Julia Vane is sloppy when she's greedy. Ethan thinks he's calling the shots, but Julia is the architect. And right now, Ethan is on his way to Julia's private estate in the hills. He thinks he’s free. He thinks you’re dying in an ICU and Ryan is locked away."
"What do we do now?" I asked. "If we go to the police, his lawyers will tie this up in court for years. They'll spin it into a battle of expert witnesses while Ryan and I live in hiding!"
"We don't go to the police yet," Marcus said, her eyes flashing with a dangerous intensity. "We let Ethan think his plan worked. We lead him directly into a trap where he will confess on camera, without his lawyers, without his corporate shields, and in front of the one authority he can't bribe."
"Who?"
Marcus opened a secondary file on her screen. "Federal prosecutors and the SEC. They've been building a silent wiretap case against Julia Vane's offshore accounts for six months. They just lacked a smoking gun connecting the physical assets to Ethan Vance."
She handed me a small, clear device no bigger than a button.
"This is an encrypted audio-visual relay. Ethan is going to Julia's estate tonight to destroy the original paper ledgers of your father's trust fund before federal marshals execute a search warrant tomorrow morning."
May you like
"You want me to go there?" I asked, my heart hammering.
"I want you to make him break," Marcus said softly. "You are his living ghost, Claire. He thinks you're helpless. He thinks he won."
