The Trap Springs.

~ Nathan ~

I stormed down the carpeted hallway of the executive suite, my fists clenched at my sides. I was looking for Victoria. She had no business meeting with the corporate auditors behind my back.

Before I could reach her office, my best friend and chief lawyer, Julian, grabbed my arm. His grip was tight, and his face was unusually pale.

"Nathan, stop," Julian whispered, pulling me into the main boardroom. "You need to see this right now."

I stepped into the room. The air felt heavy. My father, Arthur, sat at the edge of the long glass table. Victoria stood next to him, her arms crossed. On the table sat a thick black folder, open to reveal dozens of printed bank documents.

"What is going on here?" I asked, looking from Julian to my father. "I was looking for you, Vicky. Why were you talking to the auditors?"

"Because I was trying to save our family, Nathan," Victoria said. Her voice shook, and she pointed a finger at the papers on the table. "I tried to tell you at dinner. Someone is stealing from us. A lot of money."

Julian stepped forward and tapped the top page. "I ran the audit myself, Nathan. It is not a system glitch. Over ten million dollars has been moved out of our main accounts into foreign shell companies. Fake businesses."

"That is impossible," I said, shaking my head. "Our security system requires a high-level digital signature for any transfer over fifty thousand. Only two people have that key. Me and..."

My voice trailed off. My chest felt tight.

"And Isabella," my father completed the sentence. His voice was low and cold, like a heavy stone dropping into a well. "Your wife did this, Nathan."

"No," I said instantly. "Bella would never do that. We built this company together. She loves this place as much as I do."

"Look at the digital footprint, Nathan," Julian said gently. He slid a tablet toward me. "The transfers were made from her office computer. The security tokens match her personal device. And look at the bottom of these authorization forms."

I picked up the papers. My hands started to tremble. I stared at the bright white sheets. At the bottom of every single transfer form, there was a digital signature. It was clean. It was perfect.

It was Isabella’s signature.

"This must be a mistake," I muttered, my eyes scanning the rows of numbers. "A hack. Someone copied her signature."

"We checked that," Victoria said, stepping closer. She placed a hand on my shoulder, but it felt cold. "The encryption codes were entered manually from her desk. She even did some of them late at night, when you were asleep. She was planning to ruin you, Nathan. She was going to take the money and leave you with nothing."

"She is from a modest family, Nathan," my father added, his eyes locked onto mine. "We always knew she did not belong here. She saw her chance to secure her own wealth, and she took it. If the public finds out the co-founder is stealing, the global merger is dead. Wolfe Enterprises will go bankrupt."

My logical brain, the part of me that built this multi-billion-dollar empire, started to override my heart. The evidence was right in front of me. Computer data did not lie. Digital signatures did not just appear on offshore accounts by accident.

"She lied to me," I whispered. The words felt like sand in my mouth. "She looked me in the eye this morning and told me she loved me. It hasn't been long we celebrated our Eighth year anniversary. How could she?"

"She used you, son," Arthur said, standing up. He laid a heavy hand on my arm. "But we can still save the company. The federal agents are already downstairs. We have to hand her over. It is the only way to prove to the board and the banks that Wolfe Enterprises does not support fraud."

"But she is my wife father," I said, my voice cracking.

"She is a criminal who betrayed you," Julian said. He handed me a blue pen. "We need you to sign the formal corporate indictment. It officially states that the company is filing charges against her. Without this, the FBI cannot arrest her on our property, and the banks will freeze all of our active mergers."

"Sign it, Nathan," Victoria urged. "Protect our legacy. Protect yourself."

Before I could answer, the heavy boardroom doors opened. Two federal agents in dark blue jackets walked in. Behind them, escorted by another agent, was Isabella. She was holding a stack of papers in her hands. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"Nathan!" she cried out when she saw me. She tried to step toward me, but an agent held her back. "Thank God you are here. Someone copied my signature! They are framing me. Look at these papers, I just printed them—"

"Quiet, please," the lead agent said.

I looked at her. I looked at the woman I had loved for years. But all I could see were the perfect digital signatures on the offshore bank accounts. All I could hear was the logical voice in my head telling me the data was airtight.

"Why did you do it, Bella?" I asked. My voice was shaking. I could barely breathe.

"What?" she gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Nathan, no! You have to listen to me. I did not do this! All these is a lie, the auditors—they are lying to you! It was a setup!"

"The computer logs do not lie, Isabella," I said, my anger suddenly flashing hot through my pain. "Your personal encryption key was used. Your signature is on every single transfer. Ten million dollars is gone. Did you think I would never find out?"

"Nathan, please!" she begged, her voice cracking as a tear ran down her cheek. "Look at me! You know me! We built this from a folding table! Why would I ever destroy us?"

"I thought I knew you," I said. I could not look her in the eyes anymore. The pain in her face felt too real, but the logic of the data was unyielding. My family was right. She had fooled me.

The lead agent stepped up to the table and placed a document in front of me. "Mr. Wolfe, we need your signature on the corporate complaint to proceed with the arrest."

Isabella stared at the pen in my hand. "Nathan, don't. Please. If you sign that, they will take me away. You know I am innocent. You can't let them arrest your wife Nathan."

"The evidence says otherwise, Isabella," Julian said, stepping between us.

"Julian you're my husband's best friend. You've known me for years, you've known our family for years. Don't tell me you believe this" Isabella said. I look at her eyes as tears slid across her face.

I wanted to believe her, but the evidence... The evidence is clear. "Nathan please you have to listen to me". "Quiet Isabella!" I screamed at my my wife for the first time in our marriage. But looking at what she has done, I didn't see a wife anymore. I see a fraudster. A thief. "Just save your explanation" I said turning my back on her. "All evidence is clear, there's nothing you'll say that will make me believe you. You're a thief."

I gripped the blue pen. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million tiny pieces, but I had to protect the empire. I had to protect the legacy my father had built, the legacy I had poured my soul into. I could not let her bring it all down.

Without looking at her again, I pressed the pen to the paper.

"Nathan, no!" Isabella screamed.

My hand shook, but I wrote my name quickly at the bottom of the document. I signed my wife away.

I set the pen down on the glass table. It made a small, sharp click.

"Take her," the agent said.

"Mrs Wolfe, you're under arrest ". "No! Nathan you have to believe me, this is all a lie. Please Nathan "

I turned my back and stared out the window at the cold Manhattan skyline, refusing to watch as they put the handcuffs on her wrists. "Arrest her. Take her away".