Chapter 9 - The Transfer
Julian’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he opened the drive directories. "Let's see what you managed to scavenge..."
On the screen, a progress bar appeared: Indexing system files... 12%... 34%...
Julian frowned slightly. "This is taking longer than usual."
"It's an encrypted partition," Claire said smoothly, her heart pounding violently against her ribs. "You set up the security protocols yourself five years ago. Did you forget?"
Julian gave a short, dismissive laugh, though his eyes stayed fixed on the screen. "I don't forget anything, Claire."
Indexing... 78%... 100%.
A window popped up, but it wasn't the transaction archives Julian expected. Instead, a terminal window began scrolling lines of green text at blinding speed.
Julian froze. His hands hovered over the keyboard. "What is this?"
"It's a mirror protocol," a voice spoke from behind him.
Julian turned sharply. Marcus Sterling was standing by the entrance, flanked by three men in dark suits carrying official federal badges. Next to Marcus stood Victoria, her face cold and stone-faced as she looked at her fiancé.
"What is the meaning of this?" Julian demanded, rising to his feet and slamming the laptop shut—but the lights on the USB drive continued to pulse violently, transmitting data over the room's high-speed network.
"That drive didn't contain your old financial records, Julian," Marcus said, stepping into the lounge. "It contained a network mirror that just extracted every file stored on your encrypted drive—including your real passport data, the foreign account access codes, and the double-entry ledgers for the Sterling Group buy-in."
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Julian turned on Claire, his eyes wide with rage. "You deceitful little—"
"Don't move, Mr. Vance," one of the federal agents instructed, drawing a badge from his jacket. "Federal Marshals. You are under arrest for financial fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy."
