Chapter 19 - The Execution ProtocolThe digital retaliation was a masterpiece of absolute destruction.
David’s billionaire backers watched in horror as their own bot farms publicly exposed their illegal offshore accounts and bribery schemes. Apex Holdings became the target of a massive federal investigation overnight.
I was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my bedroom, sipping champagne, when Julian’s encrypted phone rang.
“It’s the FBI Cyber Crimes Division,” Julian smiled, hanging up the phone a few moments later. “They raided David’s cell block. They found the contraband phone and the encrypted hard drives connecting him to Apex Holdings. The judge just revoked his minimum-security status. He is being transferred to a federal supermax facility immediately.”
“And the construction next door?” I asked, looking out at the silent, frozen forest.
“The EPA and the SEC issued an emergency joint injunction,” Julian said, walking over and wrapping his strong arms around my waist. “The land has been seized by the federal government. Apex Holdings is completely liquidated.”
I leaned back into his solid chest, taking a deep, unburdened breath. David had built a digital guillotine to cut off my head, and he had tripped the blade on his own neck.
“There is one more thing,” Julian murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. “Because the federal government seized the surrounding land as proceeds of a crime, it went up for a closed-door municipal auction this morning. I made a phone call.”
I turned around, looking up into his dark, intelligent eyes. “What did you do, Julian?”
May you like
He pulled a heavy, sealed envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. I opened it. It was the absolute, unencumbered deed to the entire two-hundred-acre forest surrounding our estate.
“I bought it for pennies on the dollar,” Julian smiled fiercely. “No one will ever build a single thing next to our home. The sanctuary is permanently secure.”
