Chapter 9 - Breaking GroundThe drive to Westlake took less than fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Daniel’s sports car tore up the winding, darkened canyon roads, the engine roaring in the silent night. When we pulled up to the dirt driveway of the property, the flashing red and blue lights of three police cruisers were already illuminating the surrounding oak trees.
Daniel and I sprinted out of the car, the gravel crunching under our shoes.
Down in the excavated pit, Ethan was surrounded by four police officers with their weapons drawn. He had dropped the sledgehammer, his hands raised in the air, gasping for breath. His suit was covered in mud, his hands were bleeding from the splintered wood, and he looked completely, irreversibly insane.
When Ethan saw me standing at the edge of the pit with Daniel by my side, he completely lost what was left of his mind.
"Claire!" Ethan shrieked, struggling against the officers as they violently forced his arms behind his back to snap the heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists. "You can't build this! You can't just erase me! I was your husband! I gave you the best years of my life! You’re nothing without me!"
I stood at the edge of the perfectly leveled dirt, looking down at the man I had once sworn to love forever. The intimidation, the gaslighting, the fear he used to instill in me... it was completely gone. I felt nothing but profound, clinical pity.
"You didn't give me anything, Ethan," I said, my voice echoing clearly in the cool night air. "You took from me until I was hollow. But you made one mistake. You forgot that I know how to rebuild. Take him away."
"I love you!" Ethan sobbed hysterically as the police dragged him out of the mud, hauling him toward the back of a cruiser. "Claire, please! Don't let them do this! I'll change! I'll do anything!"
The heavy door of the police cruiser slammed shut, cutting off his pathetic cries.
Daniel wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders, pulling me tight against his side. "The site manager is on his way," Daniel said quietly. "The damage to the rebar is minimal. The forms can be replaced before the concrete trucks arrive at 8:00 AM. Your foundation is safe, Claire."
Just as he spoke, Daniel’s phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out, read the text message, and a slow, lethal smile spread across his handsome face.
"That was Torres," Daniel announced, turning his phone so I could see the screen. "They traced the IP address of the shadow network. The person buying the rejected traffic and the VIA clone accounts is operating out of a Motel 6 on the I-35 frontage road. The room is registered under a fake name, but the credit card used for the motel deposit belongs to Vanessa Carter."
My heart leaped. The final piece of the puzzle had just clicked into place.
"She thinks she can hide behind a keyboard," I said, a fierce, triumphant energy surging through my veins. "Call the federal cyber-crimes unit, Daniel. Give them the IP, the MAC address, and the credit card records."
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"Already done," Daniel smiled. "The FBI field office is dispatching a raid team to her motel room right now. Wire fraud, corporate sabotage, and violating federal anti-hacking statutes. They’re going to kick her door down before she even has time to log off."
I looked out over the massive, beautiful plot of land that belonged entirely to me. The toxic debris of my past was finally being swept away, leaving the ground completely clear. It was time to pour the concrete.
