The handcuffs clicked shut around Mason’s wrists.
Desperation immediately replaced his arrogance. He twisted around, wildly pointing at the company’s Chief Engineer, Arthur Vance. “I didn’t act alone! Vance wrote the brake-override code! I just planted it!”
Vance stumbled backward, his face completely bloodless. “He’s lying! Mr. Carter, I’ve been loyal for twenty years—”
“And you were with my dad the night he died,” Eli interrupted.
The eleven-year-old slid back into the driver’s seat. He didn’t look like a grease-stained kid anymore. He looked like the CEO.
“Dad’s crash wasn’t an accident,” Eli said, his voice piercing the dead-silent showroom. “It was a beta test. You murdered him to see if the malware worked.”
Vance bolted for the glass doors.
He didn’t make it two steps. The federal agents slammed him against the hood of the $2 million prototype.
Eli tapped the glowing dashboard screen. “Dad suspected a mole. So he didn’t just build an electric drive system. He built a trap.”
Eli opened the final, encrypted audio file his father had hidden deep inside the car’s physical mainframe.
His father’s voice echoed through the premium speakers.
*“If you’re hearing this, Eli, they got me. Vance and Mason think they’ve stolen the source code. What they actually downloaded was a financial Trojan horse.”*
Vance and Mason’s personal cell phones simultaneously buzzed.
Trembling, Mason managed to glance at his glowing screen. His jaw dropped.
*Cayman Islands Account Balance: $0.00.*
“Dad hardcoded the prototype to trace your shadow accounts,” Eli said, wiping the last smudge of engine grease from his cheek. “The moment I started this car, it didn’t just rev the engine. It liquidated your stolen assets and donated every penny to the mechanics’ pension fund.”
Eli stepped out of the vehicle and tossed his dirty rag onto Mason’s expensive Italian shoes.
“You’re right,” Eli smirked. “I really do know something about cars.”