Chapter 14 - The Public ExecutionThe grand ballroom of the St. Regis in San Francisco was a masterpiece of opulence, packed with the world’s most powerful tech billionaires and investors. I walked through the grand double doors wearing a backless, crimson silk gown that commanded the attention of the entire room. Mark walked beside me, an imposing, impenetrable fortress in a dark tailored tuxedo.
At exactly 9:00 PM, Arthur Vance made his grand entrance. He looked incredibly smug, flanked by elite security, clutching his phone. He believed he had already won. He marched straight toward the main stage, grabbing a microphone, eager to publicly humiliate me before announcing his hostile takeover.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Arthur’s voice boomed over the speakers, dripping with arrogant triumph. “Before you sign any contracts with Claire Mercer and Apex Media, you need to know the truth. Her company is insolvent. She is a fraud!”
He tapped his phone, executing the command to display the "stolen source code" on the massive eighty-foot digital screens surrounding the ballroom, fully expecting to unveil my bankruptcy.
I stood in the center of the room, sipping my champagne, and gave a subtle nod to Mark.
In the production booth above, Giang and Tới hijacked the feed.
The screens didn't display my bankruptcy. They illuminated with undeniable, damning evidence of international corporate cyber-terrorism.
It was a digital masterpiece of public execution. The screens displayed the wire transfer receipts, the IP logs tying the cyber-attack directly to Arthur’s Geneva trust, and the recorded audio files of Arthur bribing my VP of Finance. Finally, it displayed the undeniable proof of his original funding for Daniel’s deepfake syndicate.
The entire gala erupted into shocked gasps and furious whispers. The billionaires who had been toasting Arthur moments ago physically stepped away from him, looking at him with absolute disgust.
“You are a corporate terrorist, Arthur,” I said, my voice echoing clearly through the silent, captivated room. “You used illegal bot farms and insider bribery to attempt to destroy my company.”
Arthur glared at me, his chest heaving, his face drained of all color. He furiously tapped his phone, realizing that the beacon had completely locked him out of his own empire.
“FBI! Nobody move!”
The command thundered through the grand ballroom. Dozens of heavily armed federal agents from the Cyber Crimes Division swarmed the room. Laser sights danced across Arthur’s chest.
“Arthur Vance, you are under arrest for federal wire fraud, corporate espionage, and cyber-extortion,” the lead agent announced, snapping heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
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Arthur looked at me, his eyes wide with absolute terror as his entire life crumbled into ash.
“You played your hand, Arthur,” I said coldly, looking down at the broken billionaire. “Enjoy federal prison.”
