Part 6 : The Hunter and the Prey
The plan was dangerously simple. We needed Daniel to think he had found me unguarded.
Margaret leaked a fake itinerary to the shadow investor's lawyers, suggesting I was returning to the city to sign documents transferring my remaining assets to a secure trust. To make it believable, I had to physically be at my downtown office building—alone.
Rain lashed against the glass of my office on the 40th floor. It was past midnight. The building was supposed to be empty, save for the night guard. Julian and his tactical team were stationed in the stairwells and the surveillance room, watching every camera. I wore a hidden wire beneath my silk blouse.
"Comms check, Amelia," Julian’s voice murmured in my ear, steadying my racing heart.
"I hear you," I whispered.
"He breached the lobby. He bypassed the guard. He’s coming up the freight elevator. Remember, do not let him touch you. Get the confession, and we swarm."
The elevator dinged. Heavy footsteps echoed on the marble floors of the hallway.
The double mahogany doors of my office swung open. Daniel stood there, dripping wet from the rain. He looked feral. The perfectly groomed millionaire was gone, replaced by a desperate, hollow-eyed monster clutching a suppressed pistol.
"Hello, Amelia," he rasped, locking the door behind him.
I remained seated behind my heavy desk, forcing my face to stay as calm as it was that morning at breakfast six months ago.
"Daniel. You look awful."
He sneered, raising the gun. "You think you’re so smart. You think bringing the cops into my house made you a winner? You ruined my life!"
"You ruined your own life," I said smoothly. "But I have to ask... did Beatrice pay you extra for the bruises, or was that just a perk of the job?"
Daniel paused, his eyes narrowing. "You know about Beatrice."
"I know she hired you to marry me. I know she paid your bail. What I don't understand is why you’re here doing her dirty work. If you shoot me, you go down for murder, and she keeps all my father’s money. You're just a pawn, Daniel."
He paced angrily, pointing the gun at my chest. "Shut up! She promised me ten million when it’s done! The life insurance pays out to her shell company, and she wires me my cut. I’m leaving the country tonight."
Got him.
"You're a fool," I laughed coldly. "Did you really think I’d sit here waiting to die?"
Daniel cocked the gun. "You have no choice, baby."
"Actually, Daniel," a deep voice boomed from the hidden speakers in the ceiling, "she does."
Before Daniel could react, the glass walls of the conference room adjacent to my office shattered inward. Flashbangs blinded the room in brilliant white light. Daniel screamed, firing a wild shot that shattered my computer monitor, but within a fraction of a second, Julian tackled him to the ground.
I stood back, completely untouched, as Julian pinned Daniel’s arm behind his back, disarming him instantly. The tactical team flooded the room.
Julian hauled a sobbing, broken Daniel to his knees.
"Daniel Mercer," Julian growled, "you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and violation of bail. And guess what? The FBI is already at Beatrice’s estate."
Daniel looked up at me, blubbering, begging just like he promised I would be. "Amelia, please! They made me do it!"
May you like
I walked around the desk, stopping just inches from him.
"I bought the right coffee today, Daniel," I whispered. "Enjoy prison."
