Chapter 6 - THE TRAP IS SET
"Eleanor was the one who leaked the Apex files?" Martin gasped, leaning over my shoulder to examine the glowing green lines of server code.
"Not Eleanor," I said, zooming in on the system audit log. "Mom doesn't know how to bypass a multi-factor authentication protocol. Look at the secondary software installed on her laptop—it’s a remote desktop mirror. Someone was controlling her computer from an external location."
I traced the IP address back through a proxy chain, watching the route ping across three domestic servers until it landed on a final, static IP address in downtown Chicago.
"The Callahan Group," Marcus muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Richard gave them full backdoor access to Harrison & Thorne's corporate database three years ago. He traded your law firm's confidential client secrets to pay off his personal gambling and investment debts."
"They didn't just destroy my career today," I realized, the horrifying truth settling into my mind. "They've been using me as their ultimate scapegoat for three entire years. If anything ever went wrong, I was the built-in sacrifice."
I closed the laptop with a firm click.
"We aren't going to wait for Tuesday's grand jury," I said, turning to face Marcus and Martin. "We're taking the initiative today."
"What are you planning, Claire?" Marcus asked, leaning against the doorframe. "You're suspended from your firm. The police are holding Richard, but Callahan's corporate lawyers are already working on posting his two-million-dollar bail. He’ll be back on the street by tonight."
"Let him get out," I replied coldly. "In fact, I want him out."
I reached for my phone and dialed Madison’s number. It rang four times before she picked up, her voice sounding raw and swollen from crying.
"What do you want, Claire?" Madison sobbed. "Haven't you done enough? Tyler's family sent a moving truck to my apartment this morning to pick up his things! My life is over!"
"Listen to me very carefully, Madison," I said, my voice dropping into a low, commanding tone. "If you want any chance of saving yourself from being named as a co-conspirator in a federal money laundering indictment, you will do exactly as I say right now."
Silence stretched over the line. "What... what are you talking about?"
"Dad didn't just lose your wedding money," I said. "He used your name to set up two shell companies in Delaware to hide Callahan's assets. When the FBI hits Vance Development on Monday, your name is on those corporate tax returns, Madison. You could face up to ten years in federal prison."
Madison let out a sharp, terrified gasp. "No! I didn't sign anything! Dad just told me to sign some paperwork for my trust!"
"He set you up, Madison. Just like he set me up," I said firmly. "Now, if you want my legal defense, you are going to call Mom right now and tell her that I’m panicking. Tell her I’m at the Lake Geneva house alone, ready to sign a full recantation of my police statement in exchange for a five-hundred-thousand-dollar settlement."
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"You want me to lie to Mom?"
"I want you to drop the bait," I said. "Dad will run straight to Lake Geneva the second he gets out of jail to force me to sign that document before his lawyers take it to the DA. And when he arrives... he’s going to walk directly into a trap."
