Chapter 19 - The Midnight Gala
The grand ballroom of the Thorne estate was a breathtaking display of corrupt opulence. Massive crystal chandeliers cast a golden glow over hundreds of guests. Warlords drank champagne with corrupt politicians; weapons brokers danced in designer tuxedos.
Olga stood at the top of the sweeping marble staircase in her midnight-blue gown. She looked like dark royalty. As she descended, the room went quiet.
Elias Thorne stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling proudly. He offered her his arm. “My daughter,” he announced to the crowd, and a ripple of polite, terrifying applause echoed through the room.
For the next two hours, Olga played her part flawlessly. She smiled, shook hands with monsters, and sipped champagne. But her eyes were constantly tracking the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
11:45 PM.
“It is time,” Elias whispered in her ear. He gestured toward the heavy brass doors leading to the subterranean vault. Julian and four armed guards flanked them.
Olga’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, but her face remained entirely calm. She walked with Elias down the spiral stone staircase into the vault.
In the center of the room sat a biometric scanner and a sleek, black laptop connected directly to the core mainframe.
“Place your hand on the glass,” Elias instructed, his eyes gleaming with the anticipation of ten billion dollars. “The system will verify your DNA. Then, you simply authorize the transfer to the primary Thorne holding account.”
Olga stepped up to the terminal. She placed her right hand on the glowing blue scanner.
Processing... Identity Confirmed: Olga Rostova.
The screen unlocked, displaying a massive, blinking transfer prompt: $10,000,000,000.
Elias took a step closer, practically salivating. “Do it.”
Olga didn't touch the prompt. Instead, she pulled her phone from her clutch. Using the admin credentials Julian had unwittingly given her, she bypassed the air-gap firewall. She typed rapidly on the phone, bridging the connection to the laptop.
“What are you doing?” Julian snapped, stepping forward, his hand reaching for his gun.
“Executing the audit,” Olga said coldly.
She hit ENTER on her phone.
The screen on the laptop flashed violently from blue to blood red. A massive countdown timer appeared.
PROTOCOL LAUNCHED: THE WIDOW’S BITE.
“No!” Elias roared, lunging toward the keyboard.
But it was too late. The numbers on the screen began to rapidly deplete. Ten billion... five billion... zero.
“What did you do?!” Elias screamed, grabbing Olga by the throat and slamming her against the cold stone wall.
“I gave it all away,” Olga choked out, a fierce, triumphant smile breaking across her face. “To charities. To foundations. It’s gone, Elias. And the ledgers? They just hit Interpol’s servers. The police are already on their way.”
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Suddenly, the deafening blare of security sirens echoed through the estate.
👉 Through the vault's security monitors, Elias watched in sheer horror as heavily armed tactical helicopters descended from the blizzard, shattering the skylights of the grand ballroom above them.
