Chapter 4 - The Digital Wiretrap
By 6:00 the following morning, the trap had been completely laid out across the global financial networks.
I didn't report the theft to the local Princeton police department; I routed the decrypted ledger directly to the federal financial crimes division in Newark.
The automated system confirmed the receipt of the files with a high-priority red alert banner: “Case Verified. Federal Injunction Initiated.”
I walked upstairs into the kitchen, the smell of fresh coffee filling the space as Hannah slowly walked down the steps, her hand pressing against her bruised jaw.
"Mom," she whispered, her eyes red from a night of crying. "Gavin’s text messages... he says if I don't bring Zoe back by noon, he's going to file for full custody based on the psychological records he kept."
"He doesn't have any real psychological records, Hannah," I said, placing a warm mug of coffee in her hands.
"He has a collection of forged documents that are currently sitting on a federal prosecutor's desk."
The phone on the counter began to vibrate violently, Gavin’s name flashing across the screen over and over again.
I answered it before Hannah could reach out, my voice smooth, level, and entirely devoid of any human warmth. "Gavin."
"Taylor! Put my wife on the phone right now!" he barked, his voice filled with that same cold, arrogant confidence from the night before.
"You think you can just take my daughter from my house? I’ll have the gate security bar you from the community by lunch!"
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"The gate security isn't going to save you today, Gavin," I said, leaning against the counter. "Because in exactly three minutes, your primary corporate accounts are going to experience a permanent winter."
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