Chapter 3: The Trap Inside the Falcon
For three days, Malcolm King pretended everything was normal.
That was the hardest part.
Not the anger.
Not the betrayal.
Not even the knowledge that the woman he planned to marry had entered his home with a hidden agenda.
The hardest part was sitting across from Simone at breakfast, watching her smile, watching her pretend she had no idea that her entire plan was already exposed.
Malcolm had spent his entire life learning one lesson:
The person who reveals the most information is usually the person who thinks they are in control.
And Simone believed she was winning.
She walked through the mansion like nothing had changed.
She greeted staff members.
She answered phone calls.
She discussed wedding arrangements with the same confidence she had always shown.
But Malcolm noticed everything now.
The way she avoided looking toward his office.
The way she asked questions about his business schedule.
The way she casually mentioned his upcoming meetings with investors.
She wasn’t preparing to become his wife.
She was preparing to become the owner of his empire.
Malcolm sat in his office, staring at the security footage displayed on his computer screen.
There she was.
Simone.
Walking through the hallway at 11:43 p.m. two nights before the engagement dinner.
She paused outside his office.
Looked around.
Then entered.
Less than six minutes later, she left.
The footage alone wasn’t enough.
Malcolm knew that.
A good lawyer could argue.
A powerful family could create confusion.
And someone like Curtis Cross had spent decades mastering the art of making the truth disappear.
Malcolm needed more.
He needed Simone to expose herself.
That was why the fake seal remained exactly where she had left it.
The golden-plated lead copy sat inside the drawer, waiting.
Except now, it wasn’t just a fake.
A tiny tracking device had been placed inside the base.
Every movement.
Every location.
Every person who touched it.
Malcolm would know.
“Still nothing?”” Marcus Reed asked.
The security director stood beside him, arms crossed.
Malcolm shook his head.
“She’s waiting.””
“For what?””
“For the right moment.””
Marcus looked at the screen.
“You think she knows the seal is fake?””
“No.””
“Then why hasn’t she taken it?””
Malcolm leaned back.
“Because she doesn’t want to look desperate.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
He understood.
People like Simone weren’t ordinary thieves.
They weren’t breaking windows or forcing locks.
They were patient.
They studied people.
They earned trust.
They waited until the target handed them the keys.
“She’s been planning this for a long time,” Marcus said.
Malcolm looked at the photograph of his brother Daniel sitting on his desk.
“That’s what worries me.””
For years, Malcolm had convinced himself that Daniel’s death was a closed chapter.
Painful.
Unfair.
But closed.
Now, after more than two decades, Curtis Cross’s daughter had walked directly into his home.
Not by accident.
Never by accident.
That afternoon, Malcolm met secretly with Aaliyah and Zuri.
They were still under protection.
Aaliyah had wanted to return to work.
Malcolm refused.
“You and your daughter are not going back to that house until this is finished.””
Aaliyah looked uncomfortable.
“I don’t want to be treated like a victim.””
“You’re not.””
“Then what am I?””
Malcolm looked at Zuri coloring at the table.
“You’re the reason I know the truth.””
Aaliyah was quiet.
Then she smiled faintly.
“She’s always been observant.””
Malcolm looked at the little girl.
“She saved four hundred million dollars.””
Aaliyah laughed softly.
“She doesn’t even understand money.””
“Maybe that’s why she saw clearly.””
Aaliyah looked at him.
“What happens when this is over?””
Malcolm knew what she was asking.
Not about Simone.
About her.
About whether someone like her would still have a place in his world after she became inconvenient.
He answered honestly.
“You and Zuri will never have to worry about anyone threatening your safety again.””
Aaliyah studied him.
“You really mean that?””
“Yes.””
Because Malcolm knew something now.
Power wasn’t measured by how many people feared you.
It was measured by how many people you protected.
That evening, Simone finally made her move.
At 1:17 a.m., Malcolm’s phone vibrated.
A notification appeared.
Movement detected.
The falcon had left the mansion.
Malcolm stood immediately.
Marcus checked the tracker.
“She took it.””
“Where?””
Marcus stared at the screen.
“Downtown.””
Malcolm grabbed his jacket.
“Follow her.””
They didn’t rush.
That would have been a mistake.
Instead, they watched.
Simone drove carefully through the city.
No panic.
No hesitation.
She knew exactly where she was going.
Twenty minutes later, she entered a luxury apartment building.
Not hers.
Someone else’s.
Malcolm’s security team traced the location.
A penthouse.
Marcus looked at him.
“You know who owns it?””
Malcolm already knew.
His face hardened.
“Curtis Cross.””
The name felt like a ghost returning.
The man responsible for destroying his family.
The man who had escaped justice.
The man whose daughter had been sleeping under Malcolm’s roof.
Malcolm watched from the surveillance feed as Simone entered the penthouse.
A few minutes later, another figure appeared.
Older.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
Cold eyes.
Curtis Cross.
Alive.
And smiling.
Malcolm felt something inside him go still.
For twenty-two years, he had imagined this moment.
He had imagined anger.
He had imagined revenge.
But standing there, watching the man connected to his brother’s death, Malcolm felt something different.
Certainty.
The truth was finally walking into the light.
Inside the penthouse, Simone placed the falcon seal on a table.
Curtis picked it up.
“This took longer than expected.””
Simone crossed her arms.
“I had to become engaged to him, remember?””
Curtis laughed.
“Not everyone can fool Malcolm King.””
Simone smiled.
“I can.””
Malcolm froze.
The words traveled through the hidden listening device attached to the tracker.
Every second was being recorded.
Every confession.
Every detail.
Curtis examined the seal.
“Tomorrow night, we transfer everything.””
“And after that?””
“After that,” Curtis said, “the King family loses everything.””
Malcolm closed his eyes.
There it was.
The confirmation he needed.
But then Simone said something that made his blood run cold.
“I still can’t believe you waited this long after what happened to Daniel.””
The room became silent.
Malcolm looked at Marcus.
Marcus immediately understood.
They had just found the missing piece.
The murder.
The conspiracy.
May you like
The reason Daniel King died.
And it was all being recorded.
