The lock on the office door clicked shut with a sharp sound. Daniel waved his hand, and his two guards immediately moved to stand flat against the exit, their arms crossed and faces blank. The space felt much smaller now. The rows of windows let in the bright morning sun, but the mood inside was ice cold.

​Timothy sat frozen in his seat, his fingers digging into the sides of his folder. His fake confidence was entirely gone. He looked up at Julius, then over at Daniel’s large frame, his chest moving up and down fast.

​"Let’s talk, Timothy," Julius said. He did not raise his voice, but he used a deep, dominant tone that made the air in the room feel heavy. He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the flat surface of the desk. "You came into my building with a fake identity and a fake background. That is a very bad start. Who is paying you?"

​Timothy swallowed hard, his throat dry. He tried to look away, staring down at the floor. "I told you, I just wanted a job. I needed work. The economy is—"

​"Do not lie to me again," Julius interrupted smoothly. His eyes remained fixed on the young man, unblinking and completely calm.

"Marcus already has your real bank records on his screen. We know about the cash deposit from two days ago. We know the name attached to that account. If you keep talking nonsense, Daniel will take you down to our basement, and the conversation will become much less pleasant."

​Daniel stepped forward by a single foot, his boots making a dull sound against the floor. He didn’t say a word, but his shadow fell completely over Timothy’s chair.

​The pressure was too much. Timothy looked up, tears of pure panic forming in his eyes. His body started shaking. "It wasn’t my idea! I swear, I don’t know anything about your business or your family! A woman contacted me online. She offered me twenty thousand dollars just to get hired as your personal assistant and put a small flash drive into your computer network."

​"What is her name?" Julius demanded.

​"Sarah," Timothy blurted out, the truth spilling out of him in a rush. "She called herself Sarah. She gave me half the money upfront. She said it would be easy because you were desperate for help after your last assistant left."

​Julius’s face went completely expressionless at the mention of his old assistant’s name. The betrayal still stung, but he kept his emotions locked away. "Where is she hiding?"

​"I don’t know the exact apartment number, but she is staying in an old brick building near the north docks," Timothy said, his breath coming in short, rough gasps. "She doesn’t meet me in person anymore. We use a private messaging app. I have the contact link on my phone right now. Please, just don’t let them hurt me."

​Marcus looked over at Daniel, his usual annoyed expression softening a bit. "Daniel, get his phone."

​Daniel moved instantly. He reached down and took the mobile device from Timothy’s shaking hands, passing it straight to Marcus. For the first time in days, the two men worked together without any sarcastic remarks or arguments.

​Marcus plugged the phone into his laptop, his fingers moving across the keyboard with extreme speed. "I am pulling the network data now. He is telling the truth about the app. The messaging link is live, and the user on the other end is active. The signal is routing through a temporary tower near the northern harbor."

​The side door to the security room clicked open, and Harrison walked out into the main office. His massive presence filled the space instantly. He walked straight over to Julius’s chair, standing tall right behind him. He placed one large hand on the back of Julius’s seat, his dark eyes fixed entirely on Timothy.

​"We have her trail," Harrison said, his voice a low, deep rumble. "But if we just send Daniel’s team to storm that harbor building, she will see them coming from a mile away. She will run, and we will lose our only link to Arthur."

​Julius looked up at Harrison, a smart, calculating look appearing in his eyes. "He is right. Sarah is careful. If she doesn’t get an update from Timothy soon, she will know the plan failed and she will vanish again. We need to use this breakdown to our advantage."

​Marcus looked up from his screen, blinking behind his glasses. "What are you thinking, Julius?"

​"Timothy is going to send her a message," Julius explained, turning his gaze back to the terrified spy in the chair. "He is going to tell her that the interview went perfectly and that I offered him the job on the spot. He will tell her that he starts tomorrow morning."

​Daniel let out a low whistle, a small smile appearing on his face. "That is smart. If she thinks her spy is inside the office, she will stay exactly where she is. She will wait for him to deliver the network files."

​"Exactly," Julius said. He looked at Marcus. "Can you create a fake file packet? Something that looks like high-level company data about my father’s missing drive, but is actually filled with tracking codes?"

​"Easily," Marcus replied, nodding quickly. He actually looked excited about the challenge. "I can build a fake document that embeds a hidden tracking signal. The moment she downloads it onto her own computer, it will bypass her security and send her exact GPS location straight to my screen. It will also track anyone she forwards the file to."

​"Which means the moment she sends it to Arthur to show him her progress, we get his location too," Daniel added, stepping closer to Marcus’s desk to look at the screen. He nodded at the smaller man with genuine approval. "Good thinking, Marcus. That saves us days of searching the streets."

​Marcus looked up, meeting Daniel’s eyes for a brief second. A faint pink color touched his cheeks, but he quickly cleared his throat and looked back down at his keyboard. "Just make sure your field team is ready to move when I give you the coordinates."

​"We will be ready," Daniel promised, his tone serious.

​Harrison tightened his grip on Julius’s chair, his gaze dropping to the top of Julius’s head. His protective nature was satisfied with this plan because it kept Julius safe inside the building while the trap did the work.

"Timothy," Harrison barked, making the young man flinch. "You are going to type exactly what Marcus tells you to type. If you change a single word, or if your hand shakes enough to make her suspicious, I will personally ensure you never see the outside of a cell again. Do you understand?"

​"Yes, sir," Timothy whispered, nodding so fast his neck strained. "I will do whatever you want." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

​Julius stood up from his desk, buttoning his suit jacket with a smooth motion. He looked at the phone in Marcus’s hands, a cold smile finally appearing on his face. "Let’s send the message. Let’s see how long it takes for Sarah to bite the bait."