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From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 148. A Seat At The Table
The meeting between Margaret, Ivy, and their lawyers took place in a large conference room. The tension in the room was as clear as day as they sat down at the table.Ms. Rodriguez smiled, trying to break the ice. "Let's get started, shall we? We have a lot to discuss."Mr. Jenkins nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, let's get down to business."The negotiations were intense, with both sides arguing over the terms of the agreement. Margaret wanted a guarantee that she would have a significant say in the company's decisions, while Ivy was determined to maintain her independence as CEO.After hours of discussion, they finally reached a compromise. Margaret would take a seat on the board, but she would not have veto power over Ivy's decisions.As they signed the agreement, Ivy felt a sense of relief wash over her. She had avoided a lengthy and costly trial, and she had maintained her position as CEO.Margaret, on the other hand, was less than thrilled. She had wanted more control over
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 149. A New Challenge
"You're not going to ask me about the video circulating online?""What do you want me to say? Were you expecting me to call you and demand for an explanation?"It had been a whole month and Moses had not called or texted Bianca. She didn't really have a problem with it because she had been busy trying to get Van's attention, but with the way things were going, she realized that she might end up losing the life of luxury she wanted. "Moses, I know what it might look like–""Just stop, okay? I don't want to hear it. Prepare yourself, our wedding is in the next two weeks.""What?""I'll send you the location later today. Make sure you make the necessary preparations.""I don't understand, wedding? You didn't even tell me anything before.""Well I'm telling you now!""How long have you been planning this? Wha– does your family know about it? And what about mine?""We had a meeting a week ago and everything has been finalized. Your mother said she's going to help you in choosing your dress
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 150. Unlikely Alliance
"Mother, how dare you?""Excuse me?""What gave you the audacity to go ahead and plan my wedding without my knowledge?""Since you were determined on making a fool of yourself and tarnishing the name I had spent years building, I thought the only logical thing to do would be to marry you off. Consider yourself lucky that the Wilson family still decided to accept you. I'd say it's pretty obvious that Moses doesn't have the slightest of feelings for you, but as a sensible business man, he has put thought into the benefits to be gained from a union between our two families. My own daughter who stands to gain a whole lot more can't even think straight. Rather than looking forward, she's still choosing to remain in the past, hung up over that useless boy.""But mother, I told you that Van is already in a better place in life. He's getting rich and–""Then prove it!! Stop jeopardizing my future just because you think he already has a few bucks in his account!""Your future?""Yes! At this
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 151. Emotions
Ivy sat in her office, trying to process the revelation that her grandmother, Margaret, was behind the embezzlement of company funds. She felt a mix of emotions: anger, betrayal, and sadness. As she sat there, trying to gather her thoughts, Ivy's husband, Van, walked into the office.He was a tall, handsome man with a kind face and a warm smile. "Hey love, how's it going?" Van asked, noticing the look of concern on Ivy's face. He rarely visited Ivy at work but sometimes he would just drop by with treats, and Ivy was always grateful. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "It's been a long day. I just found out that Grandma is behind the embezzlement I told you about."Van's expression turned serious. "That's terrible. What are you going to do?"Ivy shook her head. "I don't know yet. I need to think about it and figure out my next move."Van walked over to Ivy and put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll get through this, Ivy. You're strong and capable. I'm sure all this will pass in a couple
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 152. A Surprising Revelation
Ivy spent the rest of the day thinking about her next move. She knew that she had to act quickly to stop Margaret and recover the embezzled funds.As she sat at her desk, brainstorming ideas, Van walked in with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies."I thought you might need a break," he said, setting the tray down in front of her.Ivy smiled, feeling grateful for her husband's thoughtfulness. "Thanks, Van. You're a lifesaver."Van sat down next to her and asked, "So, what's the plan?"Ivy took a sip of tea and began to outline her ideas. "I think we need to gather more evidence against Margaret. We need to prove that she's behind the embezzlement and that she's been using the company's funds for her own gain."Van nodded, his eyes narrowing in thought. "I agree. But we need to be careful. Margaret is a clever woman, and she'll stop at nothing to protect herself."Ivy nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. "I know. That's why we need to come up with a solid plan. We need to gather
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 153. An Unexpected Turn
Ivy's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Margaret, her mind racing with questions. Why had Margaret chosen Alex to replace her as CEO? And what did this mean for the company's future?Alex, who had been standing at the back of the room, walked forward, a look of surprise on his face. "Madam Wilson, I don't know what to say. I'm flattered, but I'm not sure I'm the right person for the job."Margaret smiled, her eyes glinting with amusement. "Nonsense, Alex. You're the perfect person for the job. You have a proven track record of success, and you're well-respected by the company's employees."Ivy felt a surge of anger and betrayal. How could Margaret do this to her? Didn't she know that Ivy was the rightful CEO of the company?She stood up, her voice shaking with emotion. "Madam Wilson, this is outrageous. You can't just appoint Alex as CEO without consulting me or the board of directors."Margaret shrugged, her expression unconcerned. "I can do what I want, Ivy. I'm the majority sh
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 154. Tested Love
Ivy sat in her office, staring blankly at the wall as she tried to process everything that had happened. She had just confronted Van, and she was still uncertain about the response she got from him.What was going on? What could van he planning behind ger back? And why couldn't he tell her what it was?She thought their marriage was built on love and trust, but didn't he trust her enough to let her know his plan? Or…God forbid… could Van actually be lying to her?As she sat there, trying to make sense of it all, Ivy's assistant knocked on the door."Madam Ivy, I have some documents here that need your signature," her assistant said, handing her a stack of documents.Ivy took the papers, her mind still elsewhere. She signed them without even reading them, her signature a mere scribble on the page.As her assistant left, Ivy realized that she needed to get her head back in the game. She couldn't let her personal problems affect her work.She took a deep breath and focused on the task at
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 155. Shocking Revelation
Ivy listened intently as Emily explained what she had discovered. "It turns out this isn't the first time madam Wilson will be embezzling funds from the company. The first time it started was a month after you left work. Now at first glance it looked like she was probably using it to fund her lavish lifestyle, but after after I dug deeper, I realized that it was more than that. It appears that she's funding someone or something. I don't know who the other party is yet, but I'm certain madam Wilson has been funding that party, and it has always been a huge amount of money."Ivy's heart tightened as she listened to Emily's explanation. What was going on? And why was it that whenever she felt like she was getting closer to the bottom of everything, a new mystery would just arise and ruin everything? It was really frustrating. "Madam Ivy, there's more.""Please go on.""It's about your CFO, Alex. How well do you trust him?""Alex?" What was she getting at? "What did he do?""While I wa
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220. The Raid
The black SUV tore through the city streets, weaving between cars and running red lights.Rain slapped against the windshield in heavy sheets, turning the world into a blur of lights and shadows.Van sat in the passenger seat, jaw tight, fingers tapping a restless rhythm on his knee.Beside him, Keller drove like a man possessed, silent and focused.Carla sat in the back, double-checking the blueprints of the warehouse on her tablet."Franklin and Third," she muttered."Two floors. Old textile plant. Abandoned for years. No security cameras, no neighbors — perfect place to stash someone."Van’s stomach twisted.It was too perfect.He kept flashing back to Vance’s words: If they think you’re coming, they’ll move her—or worse.He couldn't afford to think about what worse meant.Not now.Not when they were this close.They arrived in less than fifteen minutes.The warehouse loomed out of the mist like a dead thing — gray, crumbling, windows shattered, rust eating through the metal doors.
219. Confession
The air inside the van was thick with tension.Julian Vance sat slumped against the wall, wrists cuffed to a metal ring bolted to the floor.The blindfold was gone, but fear had carved deep lines into his face.Sweat soaked through his shirt despite the cold night air.Across from him, Van leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, studying him like a puzzle that needed solving.Keller sat beside Van, silent and looming, while Carla hovered near the door, tablet in hand, recording everything.No one spoke for a long moment.They let the fear do its work first.Vance fidgeted, his eyes darting from face to face, looking for a crack, a kindness.He found none.Finally, Keller broke the silence."You know who we are," he said calmly."You know why you’re here."Vance licked his lips."I—I’m just an accountant," he stammered."I don’t know anything."Keller smiled thinly."You know enough to get yourself killed. Or saved. Your choice."Vance’s hands twisted in the cuffs."I can’t," he whisper
218. The Aftermath
The night was soaked in the heavy stench of gunpowder and rain.Sirens howled in the distance — getting closer — but Agent Keller’s team moved fast.They swept the abandoned lot, securing what little evidence Moses had left behind: a few casings, tire tracks gouged deep into the mud, a broken phone.It wasn’t enough.Moses had disappeared like a phantom into the night, and worse — he had seen through the setup.Van had barely made it out alive.Inside the mobile command van, Keller slammed his fist against the table."Someone tipped him off," he growled."There’s no way he walked into that meeting with backup unless he knew we were coming."Carla sat beside Van, wrapping a makeshift bandage around his bleeding arm.Her hands were steady, but her face was grim.Van winced as the gauze tightened, but he barely felt the pain.His mind was somewhere else.A traitor.Someone inside their circle.Someone who had sold them out to Moses.Keller paced furiously, barking orders into his radio,
217. The Hunt
The plan was simple on paper.Simple, but dangerous.Van stood at the cracked concrete window of a forgotten motel room on the edge of the city, watching the rain smear the world into gray blurs.Inside the room, Agent Keller was setting up equipment — laptops, burner phones, tiny recorders the size of coins — while Carla scribbled notes furiously into a weathered notebook.Van’s nerves hummed under his skin.He wasn’t a cop.He wasn’t a spy.He was just a man trying to survive.And now, somehow, he was about to help bring down one of the most powerful men in the city."Here’s the plan," Keller said, pulling Van’s attention back.He laid out a rough blueprint of the next 48 hours:Van would reach out to Moses — casual, non-threatening — suggest a meeting under the pretense of "burying the hatchet."Offer him information.Play on his paranoia.The idea was to draw Moses out.Get him somewhere isolated.Somewhere they could grab him without witnesses.If they could catch Moses talking —
216. Warehouse Meeting
Van’s mind was spinning as he approached the dilapidated warehouse by the docks.The wind whipped at his coat, the sound of waves crashing against the concrete pier mixing with the distant hum of city traffic.This place had once been a hub of activity, a center of trade and industry.Now, it was just a hollow skeleton, abandoned and forgotten.Perfect.It was the kind of place where you could disappear without a trace.Van approached cautiously, his footsteps echoing in the empty street.The docks were deserted at this hour, save for a few stray cats rummaging through trash.No sign of anyone watching.But he knew better than to assume that meant safety.They were out there.Someone was always watching.His fingers brushed against the rough stone of the warehouse’s exterior as he rounded the corner.A single light flickered above the entrance, casting long, crooked shadows.A thick metal door was ajar, just enough to let him slip inside.Van hesitated for a moment, then pushed it ope
215. Late Warning
The city looked different in the dead of night.From the back of the taxi, Van saw it all pass in a blur — the glimmering skyline, the fog rolling across the river, the endless rows of apartments stacked up like cheap cardboard boxes.But it was the shadows he saw most clearly.The places where people hid their sins.Van rubbed his fingers over the cracked screen of Bianca’s phone.The evidence was still fresh in his mind — too fresh. The videos, the photos, the recordings.He hadn’t even begun to process it all.But he couldn’t stop now.He couldn’t let them win.The taxi rolled to a stop at the airport’s long-term parking lot.Van didn’t get out.Instead, he stared through the windshield at the flickering terminal lights, his thoughts spiraling.Was this it?Was he about to leave everything behind?Ivy, the kids, his life as he knew it?He couldn’t.He wouldn’t.But he also couldn’t stay.He needed allies.Van stepped out of the taxi and paid the driver in cash before walking throug
214. Secrets
Van didn’t go straight home. He knew better. If they were watching him — and after tonight, he was sure of it — bringing danger to Ivy and the kids would be unforgivable. Instead, he drove to a cheap motel on the edge of town, the kind of place nobody asked questions and the cameras were either broken or faked. The neon VACANCY sign buzzed weakly against the rain-soaked sky as Van pulled into the lot. Room 12 smelled like mold and old cigarettes, but it had a lock on the door and curtains thick enough to block the world out. For now, that was enough. He locked the door, jammed a chair under the knob, and dumped the soaked backpack on the stained mattress. He pulled out Bianca’s phone with trembling hands. Still wet. Still cracked. Still hers. Van sat down heavily and got to work. First step: dry the phone. He stripped it carefully, removing the battered SIM card and the microSD tucked into the side. Both small enough to fit in his wallet. He left the phone shell near
213. Hidden Tunnels
The marina was deserted. The storm had driven everyone indoors, and the usual hum of yacht engines and tourist chatter was replaced by the howl of the wind against steel masts. Boats bobbed violently in the dark water, their ropes creaking like dying animals. Van parked three blocks away and approached on foot, keeping to the shadows. The piece of paper with the coordinates was damp in his pocket, but he had already memorized them. The entrance to the old service tunnels wasn’t easy to find. Most people didn’t even know they existed — relics from when the marina had been part of a naval shipyard decades ago. Now, the city had simply built over them, sealing the past under concrete and forgetting. But Van remembered. His father had worked the shipyards once, before everything went wrong. He found the access point tucked behind a rusted utility shed — a heavy steel hatch, half-hidden by tangled vines. He tugged at the handle. Locked. Van gritted his teeth, pulled a crowbar
212. Meeting In The Rain
The storm didn’t let up.It pounded the city in thick, angry sheets, flooding gutters, choking the storm drains, turning alleyways into rivers of filth.Van watched it from the living room window, one hand curled around a cold cup of coffee.He hadn’t slept.He couldn’t.Not with the bloody scrap locked away in his desk drawer.Not with Ivy pretending everything was fine for the kids’ sake.At 2:37 a.m., his phone buzzed again.Unknown Number.Van snatched it up.A text this time.MEET ME.PARKER’S GARAGE. 4AM. COME ALONE.No signature.No instructions.But Van already knew he was going.★★★Parker’s Garage was an old, abandoned auto shop on the east side, gutted years ago after a fire.Van remembered it from his teenage years — a place where kids would go to drink, fight, and hide from the world.He drove through the drowned streets, headlights cutting through the rain like a blade.The city felt deserted, haunted.Every instinct told him this was a trap.He went anyway.He pulled up
