CHAPTER 6 — "The Billion-Dollar Trap"
Nathan suddenly laughed.
A slow...
Almost frightening laugh.
Everyone stared at him.
"You think you've won?"
He reached into his pocket and held up a small USB drive.
"There are thousands of confidential donor files on this."
"If I'm arrested..."
"The Foundation's biggest secrets disappear forever."
Judge Coleman froze.
Those files contained the identities of anonymous billionaires whose donations had changed countless lives.
If exposed...
Entire families could be placed in danger.
Nathan smiled again.
"So here's the deal."
"You let me walk away..."
"...or I destroy everything."
The audience watched in horror.
Even the police hesitated.
Nathan believed he still had control.
Eleanor simply sighed.
"I hoped you wouldn't force me to do this."
She nodded toward the back of the auditorium.
The giant screen suddenly switched on.
Instead of donor records...
It displayed Nathan's own laptop screen.
Live.
His eyes widened.
"What?"
A cybersecurity officer stepped forward.
"We've been monitoring that USB drive for three months."
"The moment you plugged it into your computer this morning..."
"...every file was securely copied."
Nathan's hands began shaking.
He inserted the USB into his laptop in panic.
Empty.
Every folder was gone.
"No..."
"No!"
Then another video appeared on the giant screen.
It showed Nathan secretly meeting Veronica in a luxury hotel months earlier.
They were laughing.
Planning.
Counting stolen scholarship money spread across a marble table.
Veronica covered her mouth.
Nathan collapsed into a chair.
Judge Coleman looked at the officers.
"You have everything you need."
The police surrounded both Nathan and Veronica.
As handcuffs clicked shut...
Nathan looked one last time at his grandmother.
He expected anger.
Hatred.
Revenge.
Instead...
Eleanor quietly whispered,
"I could forgive the money."
"I could forgive the lies."
"But I will never understand why you stopped believing that kindness was stronger than greed."
Nathan lowered his head.
For the first time...
He realized he hadn't just lost billions.
He had lost the only person who had ever loved him unconditionally.
And just as the police escorted them away...
A young woman burst through the auditorium doors, crying uncontrollably.
"Wait!"
May you like
"Please don't take him yet..."
"I'm carrying Nathan's child."
