Chapter 577
Chapter 577:
Belle crawled forward, trapping her mother in the corner. Her eyes were wild, unhinged.
“The family trust,” Belle whispered. The words fell between them like something toxic. “I know you have the master encryption key. I know you manage the offshore accounts for Uncle Hector and the others p>
Cheryl covered her mouth with both hands. Her face turned a sickly shade of gray.
“No,” she whimpered. “No, Belle. That is the family’s survival fund. That is your uncles’ retirement money. If I touch it without a board vote, Hector will literally have us killed p>
Belle seized her mother’s wrists and yanked her hands away from her face.
“If you do not give me that key, Grayson will send the FBI to my office tomorrow!” Belle sobbed. Her tears fell freely onto her mother’s silk robe. “I will be locked in a cage. Do you want to see your only daughter in an orange jumpsuit? Do you want me to die in there p>
Cheryl stared at Belle’s terrified, tear-streaked face. Her maternal instinct—twisted and corrupt as it was—flared to life. She could not let her daughter go to prison.
“You swear to me,” Cheryl whispered, her voice trembling violently. “You swear you will put it back the moment the next round of funding clears p>
“I swear!” Belle cried, nodding frantically. “It is just a bridge loan. Nobody will ever know. Just give me the drive p>
Cheryl rose unsteadily from the sofa, her legs shaking beneath her. She crossed to the large oil painting hanging above the fireplace and pressed a hidden latch. The painting swung away from the wall, revealing a small biometric safe recessed into the plaster. She pressed her thumb to the scanner. The safe beeped and clicked open.
She reached inside and produced a heavy titanium USB drive—the one containing the cryptographic keys to the Cayman Island accounts.
𝘙𝗲𝗮d 𝖿𝗋о𝘮 у𝗈𝗎𝗿 р𝗵𝗈𝘯𝘦 оn ѕ.с𝘰𝗆
Cheryl held it out. Her hand trembled so badly she nearly dropped it. “This is the last time, Belle,” she said, tears carving fresh tracks through her ruined makeup. “If we lose this, we are dead p>
Belle snatched the drive from her mother’s hand and gripped it so tightly that the metal edges bit into her palm. “I will fix this,” she promised. She turned and sprinted out of the house, leaving the front door gaping open behind her.
Cheryl stood alone in the quiet room, staring at the empty safe. A cold, suffocating dread settled into her chest and refused to lift.
Miles away, in the secure server room of SkyLine Technologies, Isolde Carson stood before a bank of glowing monitors. She was reviewing exterior security footage of the InnoTech corporate building. On the screen, Belle’s car screeched into the parking lot. Belle burst from the vehicle, clutching her handbag against her chest like a lifeline, and disappeared into the building.
Isolde took a sip of black coffee. The bitter liquid burned her throat.
A cold, predatory smile touched her lips.
“Go ahead, Belle,” she whispered to the glowing screen. “Dig your own grave. I will even provide the shovel p>