Chapter 9 - The Spider’s Web
By Friday evening, the trap was set.
With Julian’s immense technical resources and the continuous intel streaming across my vision from the translucent comments, every piece of the puzzle had clicked into place.
Ryan Whitaker had fulfilled his end of the bargain with terrifying efficiency. Terrified of federal prison, he had fed Lucas false reports, confirming that Sophia had broken down, accepted his financial aid, and had agreed to meet him in a private suite at the Grand Hyatt on the night of the gala.
Lucas had swallowed the bait whole.
I spent Friday afternoon sitting in a luxury suite overlooking the city, watching real-time encrypted surveillance feeds supplied by Julian's private security team.
*Lucas just finalized the press release,* a translucent text feed appeared, streaming raw data from Lucas’s personal laptop.
*Title: 'Tragic Betrayal: Sophia Ward’s Secret Affair Leaves Vance Heir Heartbroken.'*
*He already paid three major tabloid editors half a million dollars to push the story live at precisely 9:30 PM tomorrow during the charity auction.*
"He really thinks he's a mastermind," I muttered, sipping green tea while Julian sat across from me, reviewing a thick stack of corporate filings.
"Lucas has never faced consequences in his life," Julian said without looking up from his tablet. "His mother cleaned up his messes in prep school, and the family board cleaned up his fraud in college. He genuinely believes the universe bends to his desires."
"And Emma?" I asked, glancing at him. "Has she landed?"
Julian tapped his screen, bringing up a live traffic camera from the private aviation terminal at JFK.
A sleek Gulfstream G650 had just taxied to a halt. The stairs unfolded, and a woman in an ivory cashmere coat, oversized sunglasses, and platinum-blonde hair stepped onto the tarmac. Emma Sinclair. The golden girl of old European banking, the childhood sweetheart Lucas had pined over for years.
*Emma Sinclair has arrived,* the comments chimed in.
*She's carrying the forged hotel receipts in her designer tote bag right now!*
*She specifically asked Lucas to make sure Sophia was crying on the floor before she made her grand entrance on stage.*
"She hasn't changed," I said, a cold smile touching my lips. "Selfish, entitled, and completely convinced she is the heroine of this story."
"Tomorrow night, Emma’s family trust will be signing the tripartite merger agreement with Vance Capital," Julian said, closing his tablet with a sharp snap. "If the scandal hits Lucas instead of you, that merger collapses instantly. The Sinclair family will pull their capital to protect their brand, and Vance Capital’s stock will freefall forty percent by Monday morning."
"Good," I said, standing up and smoothing down my skirt. "Then you can buy the remaining shares at pennies on the dollar."
Julian looked up at me, his dark eyes intense. "You don't want a piece of the company?"
"I don't want his filthy company, Julian," I said, meeting his gaze with absolute resolve. "I want him to watch everything he took for granted crumble to dust. I want him to know it was me."
May you like
Julian stood up, walking toward me until he stood just inches away. He reached out, his thumb lightly brushing across my cheekbone with surprising gentleness.
"Ruthless," he whispered, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "I love it."
