CHAPTER 13 — The Chairman Takes Control
CHAPTER 13 — The Chairman Takes Control
Every monitor in Escalante Global Headquarters glowed the same blood-red color.
The message remained frozen across hundreds of screens.
WELCOME, CHAIRMAN
Then...
The lights flickered once.
Twice.
The emergency generators struggled before finally stabilizing.
Silence followed.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Victor was the first to react.
"Disconnect the building from the network!"
The cybersecurity team rushed toward their terminals.
"It won't work!"
"Why not?"
"The system isn't being hacked..."
The lead engineer looked horrified.
"...it's being controlled."
Marcus frowned.
"There's a difference?"
The engineer nodded.
"A hacker breaks in."
"This person..."
"...already has administrator privileges."
Mariana stared at the screen.
Someone had built a backdoor into her family's empire years ago.
Not yesterday.
Not last month.
Years.
Alejandro's expression hardened.
"I warned the board that expanding too quickly would expose us."
Victor looked at him.
"This wasn't expansion."
"This was infiltration."
Suddenly...
Every monitor switched again.
The Chairman appeared.
His face remained hidden behind digital distortion.
Only his voice was clear.
Calm.
Cultured.
Confident.
"Good evening, Miss Escalante."
Mariana folded her arms.
"What do you want?"
The Chairman laughed softly.
"I've wanted the same thing for twenty-five years."
"Your empire."
The room remained silent.
The Chairman continued.
"Your grandfather refused my offer."
"Your father declared war."
"And now..."
"You've inherited both."
Alejandro stepped forward.
"You'll never win."
The Chairman chuckled.
"Mr. Escalante..."
"I've already won."
Every screen changed again.
This time...
Financial dashboards.
Bank accounts.
Investment portfolios.
Shipping routes.
One after another...
Systems began disconnecting.
European banking.
Offline.
Asian logistics.
Offline.
North American trading.
Offline.
Victor's face turned pale.
"He's shutting us down."
The lead engineer shook his head.
"Worse."
"He's isolating every division."
Marcus grabbed his radio.
"Deploy armed security to the server room."
Static.
Nothing.
He tried another channel.
No response.
"Our communications are jammed."
The Chairman smiled.
"I admire preparation."
"But you should know..."
"I've been preparing much longer."
Meanwhile...
Andrew sat alone inside Richard's study.
The old journal still rested in his hands.
His phone buzzed.
Emily.
He answered immediately.
"Andrew!"
"You have to come."
"What happened?"
"The Chairman just hijacked Escalante Headquarters."
Andrew stood instantly.
"I'm on my way."
Before hanging up, Emily added one sentence.
"Dad wrote about him."
Andrew froze.
"What?"
"He left another note."
Andrew searched the journal again.
Near the back...
A folded page had been glued between two chapters.
He carefully separated it.
Richard's handwriting filled the page.
If the Chairman ever reveals himself...
Trust no one wearing the raven.
Especially inside Escalante Global.
Andrew frowned.
"The raven..."
Then he remembered.
The maintenance worker.
The tattoo.
Back at headquarters...
Marcus had already organized emergency security teams.
"We have one objective."
"Protect Mariana."
Mariana interrupted.
"No."
Marcus looked surprised.
"We protect the evidence."
"If the Chairman controls the building..."
"He wants us distracted."
Victor nodded.
"She's right."
"What is he really after?"
As if answering the question...
Every screen changed again.
A live camera feed appeared.
The image showed...
The Escalante Global underground archive.
Alejandro's face changed instantly.
"No..."
Mariana turned.
"What is it?"
"The Legacy Vault."
Victor's eyes widened.
"The original ownership documents."
Alejandro nodded.
"The founding contracts."
"The family trust."
"The original shareholder registry."
"If those disappear..."
Mariana finished the sentence.
"...our legal ownership becomes almost impossible to prove."
The Chairman spoke again.
"You finally understand."
The camera feed showed several masked figures entering the vault.
Professional.
Efficient.
Explosives already attached to the massive steel door.
Marcus cursed under his breath.
"They're inside."
Without hesitation...
Mariana grabbed a security badge.
"I'm going."
Marcus blocked her path.
"No."
"They're expecting that."
"They're expecting you to stop me."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"And I'm expecting them."
Alejandro stepped beside his daughter.
"You won't go alone."
Victor nodded.
"I'm coming too."
Marcus sighed.
"So am I."
Within seconds...
A tactical team assembled.
Deep beneath headquarters...
The private elevator descended toward the Legacy Vault.
No one spoke.
Only the sound of machinery echoed through the narrow shaft.
Andrew suddenly arrived at the lobby above.
Out of breath.
Emily beside him.
Victor's assistant rushed toward them.
"They're already underground."
Andrew didn't hesitate.
"Take me there."
Meanwhile...
Inside the underground vault...
The masked intruders finished placing explosive charges.
Their leader looked at his watch.
"Thirty seconds."
One of the men frowned.
"What if Mariana comes?"
The leader smiled beneath his mask.
"She will."
"That's why we're here."
The elevator doors opened.
Mariana stepped out first.
Marcus immediately raised his weapon.
"Security!"
The intruders turned.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Their leader slowly removed his gloves.
Then...
He smiled.
"Welcome..."
"...Miss Escalante."
Mariana narrowed her eyes.
"I know you."
The man laughed.
"You should."
"I've worked for your family..."
"...for fifteen years."
Marcus looked closer.
His face suddenly changed.
"No..."
"It can't be."
The masked man reached up...
And removed his mask.
Everyone froze.
Standing before them...
Was Daniel Mercer—
Andrew's loyal Chief Financial Officer.
The man who had worked beside him every day for a decade.
The man who had cried that morning when the accounts were frozen.
The man everyone believed was a victim.
Daniel smiled calmly.
"You've all been chasing the Chairman."
He slowly spread his arms.
"But you've been looking..."
"...in the wrong direction."
Mariana stared at him.
"You're the Chairman?"
Daniel laughed.
"No."
"I'm only the man who built the door."
He looked behind Mariana.
"And he's already inside."
Before anyone could react—
The massive steel vault door behind them slowly unlocked...
May you like
From the inside.
End of Chapter 13
