Chapter 9 - The Digital Siege
The room was dark,
lit only by the blue glow of four computer monitors.
Julian’s apartment was a high-tech fortress.
He was a man of many talents,
and one of them was navigating the gray areas of the internet.
“I’m in,”
Julian said,
his fingers dancing across the keyboard.
“Marcus came through with the codes.”
“The Lane Group server is open.”
I stood behind him,
my heart racing.
This was the moment.
This was where I took back the mind of the company.
“Find the Davenport folder,”
I said.
Julian clicked through several layers of security.
Then,
the files appeared.
Schematics.
Budget projections.
The final bid price.
“Four hundred and eighty-two million,”
Julian read aloud.
“It’s a tight margin.”
“Michael is cutting costs on materials to make the number work.”
I looked at the schematics.
My eyes,
trained by years of experience,
instantly spotted the flaws.
“He’s using low-grade steel for the foundation pillars,”
I said,
pointing to a line of code.
“And he’s underestimating the soil displacement costs in the Seaport area.”
“If he builds this,
the building will be sinking within a decade.”
Julian looked at me.
“He’s desperate.”
“He needs this win to keep the investors from looking at his books.”
“He’s gambling with the lives of the people who will live there,”
I said,
my voice trembling with rage.
“He hasn't changed at all.”
“He still thinks he can cheat his way to the top.”
“What do you want to do?”
Julian asked.
“We could leak this to the building inspectors.”
“No,”
I said.
“If we do that,
the project gets tied up in red tape for years.”
“I want the project to happen.”
“But I want us to win it.”
“Vance International is bidding,
right?”
Julian nodded.
“We’re the underdog.”
“Our bid is currently at five hundred million.”
“We’re too expensive.”
“Not if we show the committee why we’re expensive,”
I said.
“And why Michael is cheap.”
“I want you to create a second file on their server.”
“An ‘accidentally’ left-behind memo.”
“A memo from Michael to his lead architect,
detailing exactly where to cut corners to fool the inspectors.”
Julian smiled.
“A digital breadcrumb.”
“Exactly,”
I said.
“And then,
I want you to send a tip to the head of the Davenport selection committee.”
“Tell them that Lane Group’s numbers don't add up.”
“Tell them to look at the hidden folders.”
I leaned back in the chair,
the blue light reflecting in my eyes.
“Michael thinks he’s playing a game of chess.”
“But he doesn't realize that I’m the one who built the board.”
“And I’m about to flip it over.”
The next morning,
the news broke.
The Davenport committee had ‘postponed’ their decision.
They cited ‘irregularities’ in the bidding process.
The Lane Group stock price dropped ten percent in an hour.
I sat in the townhouse,
sipping tea,
watching the ticker on the screen.
May you like
The bleeding had started.
And I was just getting started with the scalpel.
