Chapter 13 - The Digital Counter-StrikeFor the next forty-eight hours, the digital war raged in absolute silence.
Arthur Vance threw everything he had at us, utilizing his shadow agency to pump massive amounts of illicit funds into the VIA clone accounts, trying to permanently shatter our international expansion. He even attempted to deploy a new wave of Seedance 2.0 generated deepfakes to damage my personal reputation.
But Tới and Giang were absolute masters of their craft. The slink.live platform swallowed every single malicious hit without a flinch, silently working its way backward through Arthur's proxies, devouring his digital footprints.
On the third night, at exactly 2:00 AM, the encrypted video line chimed.
"We got him," Tới announced, his voice vibrating with triumph. "The platform successfully bypassed his final proxy. The cryptocurrency used to buy the black-market VIA clone accounts and forge the nội quy lao động leads directly back to a blind trust registered in Geneva."
"Let me guess," I whispered, a ruthless smile spreading across my face. "The sole signatory is Arthur Vance."
"Not just Arthur," Giang corrected, flashing a digital ledger onto the main screen. "He was incredibly sloppy. He used the exact same offshore account to pay off the corrupt corporate lawyers who helped Daniel hide his assets during your divorce. It’s a direct, undeniable paper trail connecting him to multi-million dollar international fraud and corporate cyber-terrorism."
I looked at Mark. The exhaustion of the past three days evaporated, replaced by the intoxicating, thrilling rush of total victory.
"Package the raw data," I commanded. "Arthur Vance is hosting the Global Tech Summit Gala in San Francisco tomorrow night. He plans to announce his hostile takeover of our distressed assets. Let’s crash the party."
The flight to San Francisco was a blur of adrenaline and high-level legal maneuvering. Mark coordinated directly with his contacts at the FBI Cyber Crimes Division, handing them the decoded ledger while we were still thirty thousand feet in the air.
When we arrived at the opulent St. Regis ballroom for the summit, the room was packed with the most powerful billionaires and developers on the West Coast. Arthur Vance stood at the center of the room, holding a glass of vintage champagne, looking like an untouchable king.
Mark and I didn't sneak in. We walked through the grand double doors with the unyielding confidence of executioners. I wore a backless, midnight-blue silk gown that commanded the entire room's attention, my emerald-cut diamond flashing under the crystal chandeliers.
Arthur spotted us. His smug smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of profound, terrified confusion. He whispered frantically to his security detail, but before they could move, Mark and I stepped directly into his path.
"Claire Mercer," Arthur hissed, his polished charm completely evaporating. "You are trespassing. Your company is insolvent. You shouldn't even show your face in public."
May you like
"My company is thriving, Arthur," I said loudly enough for the surrounding VIPs to hear. The ambient chatter of the gala slowly died down as heads turned. "I just came to return some paperwork you accidentally filed on my behalf."
I raised my hand and snapped my fingers.
