The Trap Collapses
Chapter 04 - The Trap Collapses
The offices of Vance & Sterling Architecture occupied the top three floors of a shimmering glass skyscraper in the downtown financial district. Usually, the marble lobby was a hub of bustling activity, but today, an eerie, heavy silence hung over the entire building.
When Adrian walked off the elevator onto the executive floor, every head turned. Employees quickly averted their eyes, whispering behind raised hands.
Sitting in Adrian’s corner office, behind his executive glass desk, was Marcus Vance.
Marcus was a terrifying man in his late sixties, with slicked-back white hair, tailored suits, and eyes as hard as cold flint. He was a billionaire real estate tycoon who was used to buying politicians, judges, and corporations with a single phone call.
Beside him stood Vanessa, wearing a dark velvet dress, her eyes cold and triumphant.
“Marcus,” Adrian said, slamming his office door shut behind him. “Get out of my chair.”
Marcus didn't move. He calmly took a sip from a crystal glass of scotch.
“You’ve made a massive mistake, Adrian,” Marcus said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. “A catastrophic error in judgment.”
“Your daughter abused my child!” Adrian shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Vanessa. “I have video proof, Marcus! I have the footage stored on three separate cloud servers! If she steps near my house again, I will release it to every news network in the state!”
Vanessa laughed, a sharp, unpleasant sound. “Go ahead, Adrian. Upload it.”
Adrian frowned, a cold chill running down his spine. He pulled out his smartphone, opening the security app that connected to his home servers.
The screen was completely blank.
Error 404: Device Not Found.
He rapidly tapped the screen, trying to access the secondary backup.
Access Denied. Administrator credentials wiped.
“What did you do?” Adrian asked, his voice suddenly losing its strength.
“You think you’re the only one who understands technology, Adrian?” Marcus said, setting his glass down with a heavy thud. “My security team wiped your home servers two hours ago. The physical hard drives in your basement were retrieved by my men while you were off visiting DNA clinics. There is no footage. There are no recordings. As far as the world is concerned, nothing happened last night.”
Adrian stared at them, horror dawning over him. He had left Clara alone at the house with Caleb.
“If your men touched my family—” Adrian lunged forward, but two massive, suit-wearing security guards stepped out from the side doors, grabbing Adrian by the arms and pinning him against the wall.
“Relax,” Marcus said calmly, rising from the chair. “Nobody was hurt. My team simply collected my daughter’s personal belongings and cleaned up any… inconvenient digital evidence. We are businessmen, Adrian. We clean up messes.”
“You’re monsters,” Adrian spat, struggling against the iron grip of the security guards.
“No, we are survivors,” Marcus corrected him, strolling over to stand inches from Adrian’s face. “You turned your back on my daughter for a bastard child that isn't even yours. Word spreads fast in this town, Adrian. By noon today, the board of directors will vote to remove you as CEO of Vance & Sterling. We are stripping you of your shares, freezing your corporate accounts, and terminating your contracts.”
“You can’t do that! I built this firm!”
“With my capital,” Marcus growled. “You have twenty-four hours to vacate your personal house, which, as you know, was bought under a subsidiary controlled by my private equity group. You are broke, Adrian. You have no money, no firm, no evidence, and a child that belongs to a fugitive fraudster.”
Vanessa leaned in close, smiling wickedly into Adrian’s ear. “Enjoy your empty life, Adrian. Let’s see how much that little brat loves you when you’re living on the street.”
Marcus motioned to the guards. “Throw him out.”
May you like
The guards dragged Adrian backward out of his own office, through the grand glass doors, and threw him onto the hard floor of the elevator bank in front of his entire staff.
The elevator doors slid shut, sealing him into isolation.
