Chapter 3 - THE TRAP CLOSES"Looking for something, guys?" Ethan’s voice was deadpan, dripping with an icy venom that made both Derek and Vanessa recoil as if struck by physical lightning.
Vanessa gasped, stumbling backward against the walnut console, her hands flying to her mouth. "E-Ethan! What... what are you doing in here? You're supposed to be asleep!"
"And you're supposed to be in love with me, Vanessa," Ethan replied smoothly, stepping out from the shadows. His eyes locked onto Derek, who was still standing frozen over the terminal, his hand hovering inches from the active data transfer port. "Turns out, we both suck at telling the truth."
Derek swallowed hard, desperately trying to regain his composure. He forced a weak, nervous chuckle, pulling his hand away from the keyboard. "Ethan, man... you're scaring us. What is this? Look, let's calm down. We can explain—"
"Save your breath, Derek," Ethan interrupted, his voice cutting through the room like a buzzsaw. "You’ve spent ten years building a reputation as a financial genius, yet you're dumb enough to use your own personal downtown IP address to ping a corporate espionage router? Did you really think my cybersecurity firm wouldn't notice a backdoor data leak running right through our own secondary firewall?"
Derek’s face drained of all color. The mask of confidence shattered instantly, revealing a desperate, cornered rat. "You... you knew?"
"I knew something was wrong weeks ago," Ethan stepped closer, his imposing frame towering over his former best friend. "The missing files, the leaked investor briefs, the sudden shift in market predictions. But I trusted you. I trusted both of you." Ethan turned his gaze toward Vanessa, whose breathing was coming in shallow, ragged gasps. "And you, Vanessa. You played the doting, supportive fiancée so well. I actually bought you a diamond worth more than a house. Turns out, you were just pricing out my liquidation value."
Vanessa’s eyes flashed with sudden, desperate fury. The fragile, innocent act melted away, replaced by hard, calculated coldness. She straightened her posture, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Fine! You figured it out! You arrogant, self-absorbed control freak!" Vanessa spat, her voice rising sharply. "You think you're a god just because you built Lattice? You treat people like data points! You never gave me a voice in this company, Ethan! Derek and I made a smart business decision. We're taking the code, and we're leaving."
"You aren't going anywhere," Ethan said calmly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, tapping the screen once.
Instantly, the heavy automated steel security shutters dropped over every single window and door in the mansion with a loud, resounding CLANG. The smart-home lock system engaged, locking all exit routes from the inside.
Derek panicked, lunging forward toward the office door and slamming his fist against the biometric pad. "Open the damn door, Ethan! You can't trap us here! That's kidnapping!"
"It's not kidnapping, Derek. It's a citizen's detention," Ethan replied coldly, walking over to his desk. He reached down and unplugged Derek's flash drive, pocketing it with a sharp click. "And by the way, while we were talking, my automated legal team just transmitted a full corporate injunction, evidence package, and federal cyber-espionage report straight to the Department of Justice and the board of directors."
Derek stopped beating on the door. He turned around slowly, his eyes bulging in utter disbelief. "You... you sent it to the board? The emergency meeting isn't until Monday! If you trigger a federal investigation now, the stock will crash before we even launch!"
"Exactly," Ethan smiled grimly. "Which means your multi-million dollar buyout is officially worth zero. And you and Vanessa are going to spend the next ten to fifteen years sharing matching orange jumpsuits."
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Vanessa let out a blood-curdling scream of pure rage, grabbing a heavy glass vase from the console and hurling it straight at Ethan’s head.
Ethan didn't even flinch.
