Chapter 70

 

Less than twenty minutes later, the wail of sirens cut through the quiet surrounding the aging mixed-use building.

Detectives arrived first, followed closely by investigators from the department's cybercrime unit.

The moment they stepped inside, the lead detective frowned.

The apartment was wrecked. Blood stained the floor, and Derek Walsh was barely recognizable beneath the swelling and bruises on his face.

"What happened here? Who called this in? And who did this to him?"

Marcus Hale immediately raised both hands. The fury from earlier had vanished from his face, replaced by an expression of almost aggrieved cooperation.

"I made the call, Officer."

"I started it," one of the men beside Marcus said immediately. "I'll cooperate with the investigation."

Marcus pointed at Derek.

"Six months ago, that man broke into my company's systems and stole confidential bidding information. Halestone nearly collapsed because of it. Hundreds of employees almost lost their jobs—people with mortgages, spouses, kids to support. All because of him."

The man beside him nodded.

"We spent six months looking for him. We finally found him today. I'll answer for what I did, but you need to secure every computer and storage device in this apartment. This place is full of evidence."

The detective looked at Marcus, then at Derek on the floor.

"Get him checked out first. He needs a hospital."

Meanwhile, several cybercrime investigators moved toward the computers and servers to secure the equipment.

One of the senior technical investigators stopped in front of a monitor. A complicated terminal interface was still open on the screen, with a red warning message flashing across the top.

Several live traffic-camera feeds were visible in the center of the display, along with an enlarged image of a black Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf moving through traffic.

His expression changed immediately.

"Sir. You need to see this."

The lead detective crossed the room, and the cybercrime investigator pointed at the screen.

"This isn't just corporate espionage." He drew a slow breath. "He was inside a restricted traffic-surveillance system."

"No!"

Derek immediately shook his head.

"No, that's not—I was only trying to trace a car. I didn't change anything. I wasn't trying to interfere with the system—"

The detective's expression hardened.

"Secure the scene. Nobody touches any of this equipment."

He turned toward the cybercrime team.

"Preserve every active session and isolate the devices from external networks. Get digital forensics down here."

Because Marcus and his men had arrived so suddenly, Derek had never had time to wipe his machines. Several computers were still unlocked, local drives remained mounted, active sessions were open, and servers were still running.

The investigators put on gloves and began preserving the digital evidence.

It didn't take long before the discoveries started coming.

"We've got databases containing illegally obtained personal information. Millions of records, at least."

Another investigator looked up from a separate machine.

"Large transfers through multiple overseas accounts. We'll need financial crimes to look at these."

A third scrolled rapidly through a directory.

"Hold on. There are client files here. A lot of them."

He opened another folder.

"And chat logs."

By the time Elena came downstairs again, it was already noon.

She had showered after her workout and changed clothes, and lunch was waiting in the dining room. Richard came down from the second floor not long afterward.

He had changed into a dark brown shirt and casual trousers. There was still a trace of exhaustion around his eyes, but he looked considerably more refreshed than he had that morning.

"You're finally done?" Elena asked as she pulled out her chair. "Did they give in?"

"They did."

Richard sat across from her and took a sip of water. His voice still carried the slight roughness of someone who had only recently woken up.

"They agreed to the unconditional exemption. The pressure on the European side became unsustainable once the selling accelerated this morning. They backed down around nine."

He glanced at her.

"And yes, I slept afterward."

Elena visibly relaxed.

"Good."

She nudged the plate of fish toward him with a smile.

"Eat. You need to replace all the brain cells you sacrificed last night."

Richard gave her an amused look but obediently started eating.

After lunch, he seemed to remember something. He reached into his pocket and took out a small black velvet cardholder with no visible branding, then slid it across the table toward her.

Elena looked down at it.

"What's this?"

She opened the case.

Inside was a sleek black metal card, noticeably heavier than an ordinary credit card.

Elena picked it up and looked at Richard.

He wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin.

"It's an American Express Centurion Card. I had an additional card issued for you."

Elena looked from the card to him.

"An additional card?"

"It's linked to one of my personal accounts, and the family office will handle the payments."

Richard said it with the same calm tone someone else might have used to explain a grocery-store loyalty card.

Elena turned the card over in her fingers.

"So… how much can I spend?"

"There isn't a conventional preset spending limit."

"?"

Richard picked up his coffee.

"For ordinary purchases, use it however you like. If you want something unusually expensive—a car, property, something at auction—tell Jonathan. The family office will handle the transaction, paperwork, taxes, and any cross-border requirements."

Elena stared at him.

Richard took an unhurried sip of coffee.

She waited.

He apparently had nothing else to add.

"…That's it?"

"That's it."

Elena looked back down at the black card in her hand.

Richard's expression remained perfectly calm.

"Spend whatever you want."