Chapter 16 – The Trap
Chapter 16 – The Trap
The atmosphere inside Escalante Tower changed overnight.
It no longer felt like a corporate headquarters.
It felt like a fortress.
Armed federal agents guarded every entrance.
Biometric scanners were installed on executive floors.
Every employee underwent additional security screening.
Someone had stolen Mariana's personal files.
That meant one thing.
The next move would not be against her company.
It would be against her.
At 7:00 a.m., Mariana entered the secure operations center.
Rebecca Collins was already waiting.
A digital map of Manhattan covered the largest screen.
Red markers flashed across different locations.
Rebecca folded her arms.
"We've spent twelve hours tracking Blackwood's network."
"Any luck?"
"Very little."
"He never uses his real name."
"He changes countries every few months."
"He owns nothing directly."
Mariana looked at the map.
"So how do we catch someone who officially doesn't exist?"
Rebecca smiled slightly.
"By giving him something he can't resist."
Michael Carter looked up from the conference table.
"You want to bait him."
Rebecca nodded.
"Exactly."
She pressed a button.
A confidential merger proposal appeared on the screen.
Across the top, in bold letters:
Project Atlas
Michael frowned.
"That's fake."
"It is."
Rebecca smiled.
"But Blackwood doesn't know that."
The room grew quiet.
Mariana understood immediately.
"You want him to steal it."
"No."
Rebecca corrected.
"We want him to believe he already has."
Meanwhile...
Hundreds of miles away...
Jonathan Blackwood sat inside a secluded estate overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
No company signs.
No security logos.
Only a stone mansion hidden behind ancient pine trees.
He stood in front of a fireplace, holding a crystal glass of whiskey.
A younger man entered.
"The operation failed."
Blackwood didn't look surprised.
"I expected it."
"The FBI locked down the building too quickly."
Blackwood nodded.
"Did we get the personnel file?"
"Yes."
"And Project Atlas?"
The younger man smiled.
"Our analyst says it's genuine."
Blackwood looked into the fire.
"No."
The younger man frowned.
"What?"
Mariana Escalante was many things.
Emotional was not one of them.
"If she wanted to hide something..."
Blackwood said quietly,
"...she would never make it easy to find."
Back in New York...
Mariana reviewed the security footage again.
The maintenance worker had vanished without a trace.
Then something caught her eye.
"Stop."
The technician paused the video.
"What is it?"
Mariana pointed toward the reflection in a polished elevator door.
A woman stood in the background for less than two seconds.
Dark coat.
Sunglasses.
Silver umbrella.
She never looked toward the camera.
Yet somehow...
She seemed to be watching everything.
"Zoom in."
The image became grainy.
Rebecca leaned closer.
"Can we identify her?"
The technician shook his head.
"Facial recognition failed."
Mariana stared at the image.
"I've seen her before."
Hours later...
Andrew arrived at Escalante Tower.
Security searched him before allowing him inside.
The guards no longer treated him like a CEO.
Only a witness.
He accepted it without complaint.
Mariana met him in a private conference room.
"You wanted to see me?"
Andrew nodded.
"I remembered something."
She waited.
"Years ago..."
"Daniel Mercer introduced me to a consultant."
"What consultant?"
"A woman."
Mariana's eyes narrowed.
"What was her name?"
Andrew closed his eyes.
Trying to remember.
Then...
"Evelyn."
"Just Evelyn."
"No last name."
Rebecca immediately ordered a database search.
Within minutes...
Nothing.
No consultant.
No employee.
No financial adviser.
No records.
It was as if she had never existed.
Rebecca frowned.
"That's impossible."
Mariana quietly replied,
"Not if it was an alias."
That evening...
The FBI finished analyzing Blackwood's stolen files.
Exactly as Rebecca expected...
Someone attempted to decrypt Project Atlas.
The signal originated from an abandoned warehouse in New Jersey.
Rebecca smiled.
"He took the bait."
Within minutes...
A tactical team surrounded the building.
Drones circled overhead.
Snipers covered every exit.
Rebecca gave the order.
"Move."
Agents stormed inside.
Room after room was cleared.
Empty.
Second floor.
Empty.
Basement.
Empty.
Finally...
They reached the control room.
Rows of computers still glowed.
Coffee remained warm.
Whoever had been there...
Had left less than two minutes earlier.
One monitor displayed a single message.
Nice try.
Rebecca's jaw tightened.
"He knew."
Back at Escalante Tower...
Mariana received a secure video call.
The screen remained black.
No image.
Only a calm male voice.
"Good evening, Mrs. Escalante."
Mariana didn't speak.
"You've become much more interesting than I expected."
"Jonathan Blackwood."
A brief laugh.
"So..."
"You finally know my name."
"What do you want?"
"To congratulate you."
She remained silent.
"You've uncovered seven years of planning."
"You exposed Mercer."
"You exposed Bennett."
"You even survived your husband's mistakes."
His tone remained almost friendly.
"But you've overlooked one detail."
Mariana's voice turned cold.
"What detail?"
"The game was never about Whitmore Holdings."
"It was always about inheritance."
The line went silent for a moment.
Then Blackwood continued.
"Tell me..."
"When was the last time you spoke with your younger brother?"
Mariana froze.
Rebecca looked toward her immediately.
Mariana's brother...
Gabriel Escalante.
He had been living in Europe, managing the family's international investments.
She reached for her phone.
No signal.
Blackwood chuckled softly.
"You should call him."
"If you still can."
The call disconnected.
Mariana dialed Gabriel's number.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Alejandro entered the room.
"What happened?"
Mariana looked at her father.
"When did you last speak to Gabriel?"
Alejandro's expression changed.
"This morning."
"What time?"
"About six."
Mariana looked at the clock.
It was now almost eight.
She called again.
Still nothing.
Rebecca's phone rang simultaneously.
She answered.
Her face slowly lost all color.
"What is it?" Mariana asked.
Rebecca lowered the phone.
"Our liaison in Switzerland just called."
"What happened?"
"There was an attack."
The room fell silent.
Rebecca spoke carefully.
"Gabriel Escalante's motorcade was ambushed outside Geneva."
Alejandro staggered backward.
Mariana felt the blood drain from her face.
"Is he..."
Rebecca interrupted.
"We don't know."
"The vehicles were found abandoned."
"There are no bodies."
"No witnesses."
"No sign of Gabriel."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Blackwood hadn't struck at a company.
He hadn't struck at money.
He had struck at family.
And for the first time since this nightmare began...
Mariana realized she wasn't fighting to protect an empire anymore.
May you like
She was fighting to save her brother.
End of Chapter 16
