Chapter 497

Chapter 497:

But who had access to use Richard Pierce’s company name? Who would have both the technical sophistication to run this operation and the personal motivation to destroy Victoria Kane?

Stefan’s computer chimed again. Another message, this one carrying a different signature. The encryption was identical, but the source was different. Two people were now communicating through the same secure network, one in Manhattan.

One tracking software worked frantically to identify the second location. The signal bounced through international servers before revealing its origin.

Boston. Someone in Boston was coordinating with the Manhattan operation.

Stefan grabbed his phone and started calling Camille back, then stopped. If these people were sophisticated enough to threaten her with surveillance, they might be monitoring her phone calls too.

Instead, he grabbed his keys and headed for his car. Two hours until midnight. Two hours to get to Pier 47 and find out who was really behind the plot to destroy Alexander’s marriage and Victoria’s company.

As Stefan drove through the dark streets toward the waterfront, his mind raced through possibilities. Someone using Richard Pierce’s company name. Someone with government-level encryption tools. Someone who knew enough about the Meridian Technologies case to create convincing false evidence.

But most disturbing of all, someone who was willing to threaten Camille to keep Alexander motivated. Someone who saw her not just as collateral damage, but as a tool to be used and discarded.

Stefan checked his phone one more time as he parked near the industrial district. The communication intercepts showed Alexander was already moving toward the meeting location, his phone’s GPS creating a digital trail that Stefan’s equipment could follow.

In less than an hour, Stefan would finally see the face of the person who had been manipulating them all. The question was whether he would live long enough to warn Camille about what he discovered.

The pier stretched out into darkness ahead of him, and Stefan realized he was walking into a trap that had been months in the making. But it was too late to turn back now.

Somewhere in the shadows ahead, Alexander was about to learn whether the Guardian he trusted was really an ally or his greatest enemy.

𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗏𝗲𝗋𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖋𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗀𝖆𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒𝚌𝗼𝗺

Stefan crouched behind a rusted shipping container at Pier 47, his breath forming small clouds in the cold night air. The abandoned waterfront stretched out before him like a graveyard of industrial dreams—broken concrete, twisted metal, and the constant sound of water lapping against rotting wooden posts. His phone showed 11:58 PM. Alexander would arrive any moment, meeting with the mysterious Guardian. Stefan adjusted the small camera positioned to record whatever happened, ensuring the night vision had a clear view of the meeting spot.

Footsteps echoed across the empty pier. Stefan pressed himself lower behind the container, watching as Alexander’s familiar figure appeared under a flickering streetlight. Even from this distance, Stefan could see the tension in Alexander’s posture, the way his shoulders hunched against both the cold and the weight of what he believed he was fighting for.

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