Chapter 7 - THE TRAP IS SETThe room was suffocatingly quiet after Victoria, Marcus, and Evelyn swept out of the suite, leaving behind the heavy scent of expensive perfume and an undeniable threat of violence.
Hannah slumped into the leather chair, her hands shaking so violently she couldn't even hold a glass of water. "Julian... she’s going to kill my aunt. We have to call the police!"
"The police won't reach them in time, Hannah," Julian said, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the iPad screen. "Victoria controls a network of private mercenaries that operates outside the law. If we bring in local authorities, her men will pull the trigger before the squad cars even turn the corner."
"Then I’ll sign the papers!" Hannah cried out, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't care about the thirty billion dollars! I never wanted it! I just wanted to buy my mom her medicine!"
"If you sign those papers, Hannah, you die anyway," a weak voice called from the doorway.
Arthur Vance stepped slowly into the room, leaning heavily on a medical walker. An IV drip was attached to his arm, pushed by a private nurse behind him. His face was pale, but his eyes were sharp with absolute clarity.
"Mr. Vance!" Hannah ran over to help him to a chair. "You should be resting!"
"I will rest when my house is clean of rats," Arthur grunted, sinking into the armchair. He looked at Hannah with deep fatherly affection. "Victoria thinks she holds all the cards. She thinks because you came from nothing, you are weak. She doesn't realize that people who come from nothing are the hardest to break."
Arthur turned to Julian. "Is the trap ready?"
Julian nodded, a dark smile spreading across his face. "Yes, Chairman. We executed Phase Two ten minutes ago."
Hannah looked between the two men in utter confusion. "What trap? What are you talking about?"
"Hannah," Arthur said gently, taking her hand. "Do you really think I brought you into this company without protecting you? Do you think I didn't know how desperate and vicious my family would become?"
Julian opened his laptop, turning the screen to face Hannah.
"The house in Ohio isn't occupied by your Aunt Clara," Julian explained. "We moved your aunt to a secure location in Switzerland two days ago, right after Victor’s arrest. The woman currently sitting inside that house is a high-ranking federal agent in disguise."
Hannah’s eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"
"And the SUV outside?" Julian continued, hitting a key on his keyboard. "It’s currently surrounded by an FBI SWAT team hiding inside an unmarked delivery truck parked twenty yards away. Victoria’s men aren't holding your aunt hostage... they are walking directly into an ambush."
"But we need Victoria to give the explicit order on a recorded line," Arthur added, his voice firm. "We need her to demand the transfer of the thirty billion dollars in exchange for a human life. That is extortion and conspiracy to commit murder—unbailable federal offenses."
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Arthur reached out and pushed a button on the desk phone.
"Call my sister back, Hannah," Arthur whispered. "Tell her you're ready to sign. Put her on speakerphone. And let her dig her own grave."
