The Trap
Chapter 15 - The Trap
Adrian was not arrested.
Not that day.
But his accounts were frozen.
His office was searched.
Employees were questioned.
Within twenty-four hours, every headline had changed.
The mystery woman was gone.
The family scandal was gone.
Now the story was Adrian Cole.
Malcolm had redirected the fire.
Claire knew it.
Knowing was not enough.
The transfers were real.
They had been made through a subsidiary Adrian acquired eighteen months earlier.
The authorization trail appeared legitimate.
Daniel studied the records.
“This was prepared months ago.”
Claire looked up.
“Before Elena contacted Adrian?”
“Yes.”
That changed everything.
Malcolm had not created the trap in response to Elena.
He had created it earlier.
Why?
Adrian sat across the table in Rebecca’s kitchen.
He looked hollow.
“Waterfront contract,” he said.
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“My company refused to use one of Malcolm’s preferred contractors last year.”
Daniel went still.
“Which contractor?”
“Briar Development.”
Daniel swore.
Claire looked at him.
“What?”
“Briar is connected to three foundation redevelopment projects.”
Rebecca’s face paled.
“Malcolm used charity properties to inflate land values.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Adrian’s firm got close enough to notice.”
Adrian looked at Claire.
“I didn’t know it was Malcolm.”
“But he knew you were a threat.”
“Yes.”
Claire’s stomach turned.
The marriage had not caused Adrian’s problem.
It had delayed it.
Malcolm had tolerated him because Claire loved him.
Until Adrian became inconvenient.
Claire looked at Daniel.
“Can you prove the transfers were planted?”
“Not directly.”
Adrian leaned back.
“There may be another way.”
Everyone looked at him.
“The subsidiary has a dormant approval system. Any transfer above one million requires dual authentication.”
Rebecca frowned.
“But the records show your authorization.”
“One authorization. Not two.”
Daniel stood.
“Who had secondary access?”
Adrian looked at Claire.
“Only our external compliance administrator.”
“Who?”
He gave a humorless laugh.
“A firm recommended by Malcolm.”
The trap had a seam.
Not enough to destroy Malcolm.
Enough to pull.
Investigators began reviewing the compliance company.
The next two days moved slowly.
Then quickly.
A junior accountant agreed to speak.
He had received instructions to backdate transfer approvals.
Not from Malcolm.
From Daniel Price.
Claire stared at Daniel across the kitchen.
“No.”
Daniel looked just as shocked.
Adrian stood.
“Did you do it?”
“No.”
“Your credentials were used.”
“I didn’t do it.”
Rebecca whispered, “Malcolm.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He stopped trusting me years ago.”
Claire thought about access.
Passwords.
Old systems.
People who had worked together for decades.
Then Elena, who had been silent, asked one question.
“Who replaced Daniel when he was out caring for his wife?”
The room went quiet.
Daniel’s face changed.
“Malcolm’s chief financial officer.”
Claire knew the man.
Thomas Vale.
Another quiet figure.
Another person who had spent years standing three feet behind power.
Daniel reached for his phone.
“I need to call him.”
Claire stopped him.
“No.”
He looked up.
“Why?”
“Because if Thomas did this, he already knows the investigation is getting close.”
Adrian frowned.
“So what do we do?”
Claire thought of her father.
His obsession with loyalty.
His belief that everyone had a price.
She stood.
“We give Thomas a reason to believe Malcolm is about to sacrifice him.”
Daniel stared.
“That could work.”
Rebecca looked uneasy.
“And if it doesn’t?”
May you like
Claire’s expression hardened.
“Then my father taught me nothing.”
