Chapter 15 - 15 The Trojan horse

Chapter 15: Chapter 15 The Trojan horse The morning sun filtered through the curtains of the guest suite, casting long shadows across the room. Dominic barely slept, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to pull off the most dangerous bluff of his life. Alyssa sat by the window, her phone in hand, cautiously sending encrypted messages to their remaining allies. They had to move fast before Graves tightened his grip further.

"We need Marcus and Eleanor," Alyssa said, her voice soft but urgent. "They're the only ones who can help us build the backdoor into the system without tipping Graves off."

Dominic nodded, running his hand through his hair. "They'll come through, but we'll have to be careful. We can't trust anyone else on this island."

A knock at the door interrupted them. A guard stood in the hallway, his expression unreadable. "Mr. Graves requests your presence in the conference room," he said.

Dominic and Alyssa exchanged a quick glance. It was time.

In the conference room, Victor Graves was seated at the head of the table, his usual air of confidence radiating from him. Dominic and Alyssa were escorted in and sat at the far end. Between them sat a sleek tablet with legal documents ready to be signed.

Graves smiled, leaning forward. "I trust you've had time to consider my offer."

Dominic's heart pounded, but he kept his face neutral. "We've considered it. We'll proceed with the partnership—on our terms."

Graves raised an eyebrow. "Your terms?"

"We'll provide access to the AI system, but the deployment has to be gradual," Dominic said, carefully choosing his words. "This isn't something you can just flip a switch on. There's too much at stake, and you don't want to attract more attention."

Graves listened, nodding thoughtfully. "That's fair. I'm a reasonable man, Dominic. As long as I get what I want, you'll get what you need."

Alyssa chimed in. "We also want assurances that no harm will come to us or our team. This partnership is based on trust."

Graves chuckled, his gaze icy. "Trust? After everything you've tried to pull? You'll have my word, but remember—trust works both ways. If I sense the slightest betrayal, I'll destroy everything you love."

Dominic swallowed hard. "Understood."

Graves waved his hand, signaling for his assistant to bring over the documents. "We'll draft up the new agreement. For now, let's get started. You'll be staying on the island for a few more days to oversee the initial integration." S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Alyssa stiffened. "We weren't told we'd be staying."

Graves smiled that wolfish grin again. "It's for your safety, of course. Until we're certain everything is in place, I need you here. Wouldn't want anything... unexpected to happen."

It was clear they were prisoners in everything but name. Dominic forced a smile. "We'll cooperate."

As they left the conference room, Alyssa leaned in and whispered, "We need to get out of here before he traps us for good."

Dominic nodded, whispering back, "We will. But first, we have to finish setting the trap."

Later that afternoon, Dominic, Alyssa, Marcus, and Eleanor huddled in a small, nondescript office on the island. The door was locked, and the guards stationed outside believed they were working on integrating the AI system as per Graves' instructions. What they didn't know was that Dominic and Marcus were secretly creating the backdoor—an invisible weakness in the system that they could exploit when the time was right.

Marcus typed furiously on his laptop, his brow furrowed in concentration. "If Graves' tech team looks too closely at this, they'll notice something's off."

"They won't," Dominic said, keeping his voice steady. "Graves is arrogant. He thinks he's already won, and his team will be under strict orders to follow his lead. He won't let them question it."

Alyssa paced back and forth, arms crossed. "We can't rely on him being overconfident forever. Once this is deployed, we need to act fast. What's the escape plan?"

Dominic hesitated. "We don't have one. Not yet. But the moment the system goes live, the federal agents will move in. Laura is coordinating with them."

Eleanor glanced nervously at the door. "How sure are you that Graves doesn't already know about the backdoor?"

"I don't know," Dominic admitted. "But it's the only chance we have."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Graves' island mansion seemed to grow even more imposing, its cold walls a reminder of how dangerous their situation had become. Dominic and Alyssa returned to their suite, the weight of the plan heavy on their shoulders.

"We're running out of time," Alyssa said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Graves isn't stupid. He'll figure out we're playing him."

Dominic sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. "We've got one shot. Once the system is deployed, we have to act. We'll signal Laura and the feds, and they'll storm the island. But we need to be ready to move before that happens."

Alyssa sat beside him, her hand resting on his. "What if something goes wrong? What if they don't get here in time?"

Dominic met her gaze, his expression hard. "Then we fight our way out."

The following day, the AI system went live. Marcus finalized the backdoor, masking it beneath layers of legitimate code. Graves had his tech team working around the clock to test the system, but as predicted, they followed Graves' orders blindly, too intimidated to question anything.

Graves called for a meeting in the grand hall to celebrate the milestone. Dominic and Alyssa joined the other guests, who raised glasses of champagne as Graves delivered a self-congratulatory speech about power, control, and the future.

But Dominic wasn't listening. His mind was focused on what was about to happen next.

As the celebration continued, Dominic subtly pressed a hidden button on his phone, sending the signal to Laura and the federal agents. It was time.

Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the mansion. Graves' face darkened as his security team rushed into action.

"What's happening?" Graves demanded, his voice rising above the chaos.

Dominic remained calm, even as Graves' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "It looks like something's wrong with the system," Dominic lied. "Maybe a glitch."

But it wasn't a glitch.

It was the beginning of the end.