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Chapter 73
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 74
Dieter Lassenbach is famous among techies for being a recluse. He’s sort of the J.D. Salinger of tech gods.He’s also infamous for being something of an evil genius… but I don’t think anybody would have pegged him as a serial killer. Which means he has the perfect cover.As teenage hackers, Mailin and I knew him as one of the legendary antiheroes of the internet. And that was more than a decade after he’d done most of his damage.Dieter was the only son of immigrants who escaped to the U.S. from East Germany back during the Cold War. A child prodigy and college dropout, he was also one of the first guys to deal in encryption for banking transactions back in the 1990’s. He sold his company for hundreds of millions when he was in his mid-twenties.During the dot.com bubble era, he was known as a tech Nostradamus who could spot an intriguing startup in its early stages. He’d make an insanely low offer for 51% of the stock, and when he was rebuffed, he would then reverse-engineer the comp
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 75
“Grant Carlson… we meet again.”Dieter’s real voice is different from Epicurus’s. The main difference is it’s higher pitched. He must have used audio manipulation software, both to disguise his voice and to make it sound more threatening. But the rhythms are the same, and the slight European accent is the same.Grant laughs for several seconds, the kind of laugh when you realize the universe has played a dirty trick on you. Then he shakes his head wearily. “Hello, Dieter.”Wait – What?!“Grant knows who this guy is?!” Mailin asks, floored.Everybody, including Duplass, tries to crowd around the monitor.“How’s the house working out for you?” Grant continues.Holy shit.“He must have designed Dieter’s house,” I mutter.“Magnificently. Even better than the mansion you designed for Erickson.”“Who’s Erickson?” Duplass demands, but Grant answers the question for us.“Then why’d you have to go and burn it down? I liked that house.”“I liked it, too. All those lovely, hidden rooms… simply
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 76
There’s a pretty big McMansion inside the gated compound. Nobody’s home – which is what I discovered by hacking the house’s security network, and why I chose this house instead of all the others bordering Epicurus’s property. That’s crucial to my plan.So is leaving Duplass and Mailin behind.The limo is parked next to the McMansion. The car doors are open, the windows are down, and Mailin and Tony the driver are handcuffed to the metal door frames. The handcuff keys glitter tantalizingly in the grass about twenty feet out of reach. Duplass is slumped unconscious on the backseat, though he’s still chained to his car door, too.“This is a FUCKED UP PLAN, Eve!” Mailin yells angrily.We all ignore him as JP picks the lock on the McMansion’s front door. I’ve already deactivated the alarm, so there’s no chance a security company or the police are coming.Once JP and Dominique are inside, I hold a cell phone out to Mailin. “Do it like I told you: call the FBI and get a strike team for Epicu
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 77
Inside the empty McMansion, we’re preparing for war. I use the laptop to comb through thousands of Epicurus’s computer files. At the same time, I keep thumbnails of his security camera feeds onscreen, waiting for Grant to appear.JP is using the McMansion family computer to access Epicurus’s security system through a backdoor I created specifically for him.Dominique has spread out all our available resources on a table. There are three cell phones – one each from Tony the driver, Mailin, and Duplass, not to mention Duplass’s Bluetooth earpiece. There’s the contents from my backpack. The cash and credit cards are worthless, but there are several GPS trackers still left, plus some tubes of super glue.As for guns, we have five: one semi-automatic pistol from Grant, plus four more from the FBI – two from Mailin and Duplass, and two from their fallen comrades. All in all, there are about 100 bullets. Hopefully that will be more than enough.I stop hacking for a minute and stare at all
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 78
Then I switch back to the plan. Because what I really want is for me and Grant to come out of this alive.First I make a series of preparations that are absolutely necessary. For instance:Audio of me saying various things, in case I need to distract Epicurus but can’t speak aloud. I’m inspired by my Al Pacino soundboard, so I use the program to record a bunch of elements I think I might be able to string together into a semi-coherent conversation.Also, five-minute-long video loops of blank footage for every outside camera on the property. That’s so Dominique and I can approach the mansion undetected by Epicurus’s security detail – at least as long as they’re only watching the video cameras. Running across any guards face-to-face will be a different matter.A list of usernames and passwords for all of Epicurus’s computer systems, courtesy of the NSA’s backdoor.Then I bring up schematics of Epicurus’s house. How’d I get them? From Grant’s online vault of client blueprints. I found th
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 79
I am on the land surrounding Epicurus’s property, and I am running for my life.More accurately, I am running for Grant’s life.There are pre-recorded video loops on all the surveillance cameras on the property. If Epicurus has someone watching the cameras, all they will see is a grove of orange trees and grassy fields, instead of a twenty-something chick hauling ass.Thank God I told Marcel I wanted jeans and tennis shoes. This would be a complete travesty if I were in a skirt and heels.I’m also wearing Grant’s backpack, the one we jumped out of the New York skyscraper with. Inside is my laptop, two tubes of superglue, a GPS chip, a cell phone, and Mailin’s government-issued handgun.In my hand is one of the other pistols. I don’t really know how to use it, other than point and pull the trigger, but I have it just in case.In case of what, I don’t want to consider.Dominique should be about 500 feet to my left. The McMansion abuts Epicurus’s property, and we started off at different
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 80
I switch to a view of the plastic room and wince in apprehension of seeing Grant in pain – but Epicurus seems to still be in gloat mode.I click a button on my laptop, the soundboard activates, and an audio clip of my voice plays over the loudspeaker in the plastic-wrapped room beneath me – just like Al Pacino or Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can hear it distinctly, even in the air duct.“Heeeeey Epicurus. Or should I say, ‘Dieter’?”The shock on Epicurus’s face is something to behold. I have to stifle a laugh as he whirls around like a surprised baboon.“WHAT?! NO! How did you find me?!”I muted all audio from the laptop, so I’m actually hearing him shout from right beneath me. He’s more than loud enough for his voice to carry through the reinforced metal.I click a button, and my voice speaks in the room beneath me. “It was easy. TOO easy.”While Epicurus continues to flail about like a chimp on crack, I check the surveillance feeds in the rest of the house. The audio may be silent, but
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Chapter 81
The first thing I hear after the ringing in my ears subsides a little is Grant’s frantic voice.“EVE! Eve, are you okay?!”“I’m fine, I’m fine!” I yell back at him from the ground.The FBI agents swarm in, hollering at everybody to drop their guns. Since Grant doesn’t have one – and since he’s obviously strapped down to the bed – he’s safe. As for me, I tell them right away about the pistol in the back of my jeans. I also make sure my hands are high in the air when I do it.“GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!” they scream. “HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!”I move very slowly into position, careful not to spook them. Once I’m spread-eagle facedown, they slip the gun out of my waistband, then zip-tie my wrists and hoist me roughly to my feet.I try not to look at Epicurus’s dead body. I feel bad, though God knows there’s no reason to. He was a serial killer. He was going to torture Grant to death, and he would have happily done the same to me. He was a deranged psychopath, a nightmare wrapped in huma
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend. His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in r
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
But as far as wedding days go, it wasn’t the only one.Come on, I’d gotten married in sopping wet clothes, on a deserted island in the Caribbean, with only four people total in attendance.Did you really think I wasn’t going to have a billionaire-style shindig, with all my family and friends?Connor and I decided on it spontaneously, as soon as we got back home. But rather than hold it in New York City, with all its bad memories from the last couple of weeks, we held it two weeks later in Lake Cuomo, Italy. Have you ever seen pictures of Lake Cuomo? It’s like an Italian Renaissance fairytale. George Clooney bought a residence there, with good reason – it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And that’s where we had our wedding.There was only one shadow hanging over the entire day.After we were escorted back to St. Vincent by the policemen, Connor immediately hired a team of divers to go down to inspect the yacht’s wreckage. There was one body in particular he wanted found.B
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
It turns out Johnny was right: we didn’t see a single shark the entire way.That doesn’t mean it was a piece of cake. What with Johnny and Connor’s wounds, and my needing to rely on their help when I was tired, it took us almost an hour. By the time we got to the island, we were exhausted. But Sebastian was there to greet us. As we approached where the waves started to break, he saw us and started yelling and waving ecstatically from the beach.“A little help!” Johnny shouted at him. Sebastian immediately raced out into the waves and dragged me to shore. “Thank God, thank God,” he kept sobbing as he helped me lie down on the sand. Then he went back out and helped Johnny and Connor limp their way onto the beach.We all collapsed next to each other. Connor and I held hands as we stared up into the blue sky, too weary to speak.“I thought I’d never see you again,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his face.I was touched; it was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him.“No such luck,” Co
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The happiest moment of my life was when Connor proposed to me.The second was when he burst through that door.And the third was seeing the look of surprise on Miranda’s face when she realized what I had done to her.While Connor kept her talking, I picked the lock and undid the handcuffs from my right wrist. (Bobby pins to the rescue!) Then I grabbed Miranda’s arm and slapped the cuffs on her.Anytime I’m ever depressed about anything from now on for the rest of my life, I’m just going to remember the look of surprise on that murderous bitch’s face, and everything will be better. Instant anti-depressant.Miranda yanked her arm up with a clank! of the chain, but she was locked to the metal armrest of the chair – which was bolted to the floor.She screamed in fury, and pulled the gun’s trigger.BLAM!But I’d purposefully bumped her aim away from Connor – so all that happened was one of the creepy glass spider cases shattered into tiny shards.The gunshot hurt my ears, but I’d been expe
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I couldn’t take the shot. I wasn’t Johnny; my aim was good, but not stellar, and the floor was already at a 20 degree tilt. Miranda had her gun at point blank range to Lily’s head. If she pulled the trigger before I got her – I slowly held my .45 away from my body and let it fall to the floor.All the ugliness I knew was inside Miranda revealed itself on her face. It was the evil leer of a serial killer, the grin of a Great White Shark.“I win,” she gloated.My heart sank.It was over. I had failed.I looked at Lily, both sorrow and love welling up at once. She was seated in some sort of chair bolted to the floor, and was handcuffed to the metal armrest.Lily’s eyes were frantic, but her lips were moving. She was mouthing something…Keep her talking.I couldn’t tell for the life of me what she had in store, but I complied. I looked up at Miranda. “You win. You can do with me whatever you want, but please – let Lily go.”“Don’t waste your breath,” Miranda snarled. “Walk towards me w
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The door suddenly burst open, and there stood Connor with a gun in his hand, just like the star of an action movie.My heart soared with love – and fear. Because Miranda was standing behind my chair, just like the villain in an action movie.I was between them – Miranda’s human shield.I felt the barrel of Miranda’s pistol jam against the back of my head.“Drop it,” she commanded, “or I kill her.”Connor looked at me helplessly.“Don’t worry about me – shoot her!” I begged him.But he wouldn’t take the chance. He held the gun slowly away from him and let it fall to the floor. CLUNK.I felt Miranda’s pistol stop pressing against my scalp, then saw it appear next to me as it pointed at Connor.“I win,” she said, and I could hear the sneering triumph in her voice.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I rushed over to Leo’s body, staggering in the tilting hallway as I ran.He was lying face-up on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him on the floor.He saw me coming. Tried weakly to lift his AR-15 – I put two more rounds in him with my .45.BLAM BLAM.He lay still after that.Adrenaline coursed through me like a drug, sharpening my senses while making everything unreal.I felt sick. I had just killed a man. I had just taken a life. He was a traitor, yes, and someone who was planning to hand me over to be killed – but still, I felt queasy.Lily.She was all that mattered. I pulled myself together.“Nice shooting,” Eve said in my ear. “Oh ye of little faith.”“What?” At first I thought she meant something about me doubting my abilities to shoot someone, which didn’t make any sense.“You thought I was a turncoat? AGAIN?”“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”“Hmph. We’ll talk later. Go down the hallway the way you were originally heading – there’s a half-dozen g
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
BOOM.There was a massive explosion somewhere on the ship. Every glass pane in the spider terrariums rattled, and a couple cracked.“What the hell?” Miranda said, and stumbled to her feet as the yacht began to tilt to one side.After my initial shock from the blast, I watched Miranda’s face. She was reacting with more fear – in fact, with more emotion – than I’d ever seen her display before.She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.After all the indignities the bitch had put me through, I couldn’t resist. “Guess my fiancé’s here,” I said, and gave her a little smile.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I was halfway down the deck when Eve spoke in my ear. “Connor, there’s a problem.”“What?” I whispered.“Juan and Leo are on the other side of the yacht, but I’m not getting any video feeds of them.”There was a dull WHUP in the distance, then another one a few seconds later.Not like gunshots, exactly. But they did sound like a heavy book being dropped on a wood floor.I ducked into an alcove with a door in it, and hunkered down into a squatting position. “Juan? Leo?”“We separated, and Juan ran into a guard,” Leo’s voice said. “Juan’s dead, but I got the other guy before he could sound the alarm.”SHIT. Already things were going to hell, and we’d barely engaged the enemy yet.But… something didn’t make sense…I frowned. “I heard two silenced shots. How come I didn’t hear any regular gunfire?”“They’ve got suppressors, too. The first one was the guy shooting Juan, the second was me shooting the guard.”I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. I just chalked it up to
