Chapter 9 - The Briefcase Contained Proof Against Luca Too
Before the meeting, Damien’s accountant discovered something crucial.
The physical ledger included handwritten security approvals.
Luca’s approvals.
He had stolen the very evidence that could expose him.
That explained why he needed the entire case rather than simply copying financial files.
He was not only trying to weaponize Damien’s secrets.
He was trying to erase his own.
The digital drive had backups.
But Luca apparently believed they could be altered or destroyed if he obtained Damien’s authorization.
He needed the second token to open the protected archive and rewrite parts of it before selling information onward.
Not brilliant.
Desperate.
That changed our leverage.
We did not need the physical case to prove everything.
We needed it to prevent wider exposure.
Different stakes.
Damien looked relieved for approximately three seconds.
Then:
“Can we lock the archive remotely?”
“No.”
The system had been deliberately designed against unilateral remote control.
Ironically, that security now limited us.
But there was one more protection.
Any modification required two-party authentication.
Damien.
And the finance custodian.
Luca apparently did not know the second person had changed last month.
He believed Damien alone was enough.
That mistake gave us room.
At the freight terminal, we would not bring the real token.
We would bring nothing capable of changing the archive.
No technical trick.
No fake electronics.
Just time.
The goal was simple:
Get Luca talking.
Get close enough to recover the case if possible.
Avoid turning the terminal into another massacre.
Damien wanted six armed men.
I said two.
He argued.
I reminded him Luca expected force.
Force would make him retreat faster.
We compromised at three trusted people positioned openly.
No hidden army.
No elaborate trap.
Damien hated it.
Good.
He was learning uncertainty too.
Before leaving the hospital, he stopped me.
“You don’t have to go.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Because of the case?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Because Luca knows my past. If I disappear now, he controls what that past means.”
Damien understood.
Then he said:
“When this is over, you tell me everything.”
I nodded.
“And you tell me everything.”
He smiled faintly.
“Marriage counseling with firearms nearby.”
“Romantic.”
For the first time since the hotel attack, we laughed.
Small.
May you like
Tired.
Still together.
Related Stories
