All Chapters of The Useless Son-in-law Who Became A Crypto Genius : Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
78 chapters
Casting The Net (I)
Neo pulled up a private browser. The kind that didn't keep logs. Didn't remember searches. Didn't leave traces.He'd been thinking about the thugs for days now. The three men who'd stabbed him. Who'd been hired to kill him.'They're still out there. Probably got paid already. Probably think the job's done.'But Neo had their faces. Had screenshots from the security footage. Had run them through facial recognition databases until he found matches.Vincent Torres. The tall one with the gun. Ex-military, dishonorable discharge. Assault charges dropped due to "insufficient evidence."Marcus Webb—no relation to Richard, thankfully. The one with the knife. Criminal record longer than his arm. Robbery, assault, extortion.And James "Jimmy" Park. The quiet one. The one who'd actually stabbed Neo. Drug charges. Gang affiliations. The kind of guy who'd do anything for the right price.'Desperate men. Dangerous men. Perfect.'Neo downloaded an encrypted messaging app. The kind criminals used. Th
Casting The Net (II)
At the Carver estate, Douglas slammed his phone down."Well?" Cassandra looked up from her magazine. "What did she say?""Didn't matter what she said. I made it clear we won't tolerate these conspiracy theories.""You think that'll shut her up?"Douglas poured himself a whiskey. Noon on a Tuesday, but whatever. "If it doesn't, the lawyers will."Mark walked in. Laptop under his arm. Circles under his eyes darker than usual."Who are we suing?""That reporter. The Chen woman. She published an article implying we had something to do with Noam's death."Mark's expression flickered. Something Cassandra couldn't quite read."What?" she asked."Nothing. Just—" Mark set his laptop down. "Maybe threatening her wasn't the smartest move.""What's that supposed to mean?""It means journalists don't back down when threatened. They dig deeper."Douglas waved a dismissive hand. "She's a nobody writing for a nobody site. It'll blow over."But Mark didn't look convinced. He pulled up the article on h
Hire A Team
He typed out the instructions. Drop location. Pickup location. Timeline. Payment details.[Payment upon completion. Crypto. Untraceable. Don't fuck this up.]Vincent: [We won't.]Neo hoped not. He needed them competent. Needed them reliable.Because if this test run worked—if they proved themselves—then he'd have the muscle for phase four.The revenge phase.–––––––––––In her tiny apartment, Lyra stared at her phone.Douglas Carver's threat echoed in her head. "Our lawyers will be in touch."She should've been scared. Should've been backing down.Instead, she felt energized.'They're rattled. Which means I'm onto something.'She pulled up her conspiracy board. Added new notes. Douglas's call. His specific language. Mark's warning about digging deeper.'What are they hiding? It's not just insurance fraud. There's something else. Something bigger.'Her phone buzzed. Email notification.Subject: "Re: Bellvue Article"Sender: AnonymousLyra's finger hovered over it.'Could be spam. Could
String Along
Three weeks into operations, Ames Digital was starting to look real.Neo watched through the security feed as Adam conducted another interview. Some hotshot engineer from a failed startup, portfolio on his laptop, talking about algorithmic trading like he'd invented it.Adam nodded along. Asked decent questions. Nothing that would raise flags.'Good. He's learning.'The office had filled out. Six employees now. Two engineers, a designer, a marketing specialist, and a CFO Adam had poached from some fintech company.All of them thought they were building the next big thing in crypto trading.None of them knew their boss was just a figurehead. A puppet with Neo's hand so far up his ass he could taste it.Neo took a sip of cold coffee. Grimaced. When had he made this? Yesterday?'Doesn't matter. Focus.'He pulled up the company financials. The trading algorithms were actually working—legitimately working. Making small profits off market inefficiencies. High-frequency stuff that added up.
The Mystery Player's Threat
Adam knocked on Neo's office door.Well, not Neo's office. The empty office Neo rented two floors above Ames Digital. The one with no name on the door. The one Adam thought belonged to "Mr. Ames, Senior Partner.""Come in," Neo said. Voice modulator app running on his phone. Made him sound older. More authoritative.Adam entered. Nervous energy. Smoothing his tie."Sir, the team's making excellent progress. The trading algorithms are performing above projected returns.""Good. Hiring?""Three more interviews this week. We should be at full staff by month's end."Neo nodded. Kept his face angled away from the light. Hoodie up. Sunglasses on. Adam had never seen his face clearly."What about the building?""Building, sir?""For expansion. When we scale, we'll need dedicated space. I'm looking at the Meridian Tower."Adam's eyes widened. "That's—that's forty-plus million.""Forty-two. My offer's been accepted.""We're—we're buying it?""Phoenix Holdings is buying it. Ames Digital will le
Growth!
[Initial trace complete. Found interesting anomaly. Coins moved through wallet registered to A.C. Same initials as Alina Carver. Could be coincidence. Investigating further.]Mark's response came immediately: [Not a coincidence. What else?]'Eager. Suspicious of Alina already. This is going to be easier than I thought.'Neo typed: [Need more time to confirm. But pattern suggests someone with inside access to Noam's accounts. Someone close to him.]Mark: [His wife.][Possibly. I'll have proof within 48 hours. Additional fee applies.]Mark: [Just get me proof.]'Oh, I'll get you proof. Fake proof. But you'll believe it because you want to believe it.'Neo pulled up his fake evidence. Transaction histories showing Alina accessing crypto wallets weeks before Noam's death. IP addresses traced to her phone. Email exchanges with anonymous buyers.All fabricated. All convincing.He'd deliver it to Mark in two days. Watch him confront Alina. Watch the family tear itself apart.'And while they'
First Contact? The Interview
"Ames Digital. They just announced a Series A. Fifty million valuation." Mark grabbed the tablet. Read. His jaw tightened. "Who the hell are they?" "That's what I want to know. They appeared out of nowhere. High-frequency trading. Crypto focus. Sound familiar?" "There are dozens of firms doing that." "Not ones that undercut our prices and poach our potential clients." Douglas paced. "Three deals we lost this month. All to Ames Digital. They're either incredibly lucky or—" "Or what?" "Or they know something we don't." Mark stared at the screen. Neo zoomed in on his expression. Suspicion. Paranoia. The gears turning. 'That's right, Mark. Wonder who they are. Wonder how they knew. Wonder if maybe, just maybe, someone's targeting you specifically.' "I'll look into it," Mark said finally. "See who's behind them." "Already tried. Ownership structure's a maze. Shell companies and offshore trusts. Very deliberate." "So they're hiding something." "Or they're smart ab
This Is Targeted
Adam came to Neo's office an hour later. Sweating. Nervous."How'd I do?"Neo pulled off his sunglasses. "Fine. You did fine.""She was asking about—about the ownership structure. About connections. I didn't—""You didn't say anything wrong. She's fishing. Throwing out names to see if you react.""But the timing thing. About that Noam guy. That's—""Coincidence. Which is what you said." Neo's voice went cold. "Unless you think there's a connection?""No! No, of course not. I just—she made it sound suspicious.""That's her job. To find patterns that aren't there." Neo stood. Walked to the window. "Forget about it. Focus on the company. On the Series A. On growth."Adam nodded. Still anxious. "Right. Yes. Of course."He left.Neo waited until the door closed. Then pulled up Lyra's location through her phone's GPS.She was at a coffee shop. Typing.He hacked her laptop's camera. Angled it so he could see her screen.Article draft. Title: "Ames Digital: Success Story or Something More?"N
Hook, Line And Sinker
Neo pulled up the Helix Coin whitepaper. Third revision. Getting closer.'Needs to sound revolutionary without being too technical. Mark understands just enough to be dangerous. That's the sweet spot.'He typed."Helix utilizes quantum-resistant lattice-based cryptography combined with AI-optimized transaction routing. This creates a self-healing blockchain immune to traditional attack vectors."'Bullshit. Complete bullshit. But impressive-sounding bullshit.'The key wasn't making it real. The key was making it believable.And for that, he needed proof of concept.Neo pulled up three different crypto exchanges. Set up accounts on each. Moved small amounts between them, exploiting price differences.Basic arbitrage. Nothing revolutionary. But when wrapped in fancy terminology—'Cross-exchange quantum optimization.'He documented everything. Screenshots. Transaction histories. Profit margins.A thousand dollars became thirteen hundred in forty minutes.Thirty percent returns.'That'll g
Money Doubler
Lyra couldn't let it go. She sat at her desk, walls covered in printouts. Photos. Timelines. Red string connecting everything like some conspiracy theorist's wet dream. Her roommate had stopped asking questions. Just left her alone with her obsession. 'It's all connected. I know it is. I just need to prove it.' Noam Ash dies. His crypto vanishes. Ames Digital launches. The Carvers panic. Mark starts investigating. 'Someone's orchestrating this. Someone smart. Someone with resources and a vendetta.' Her anonymous source kept feeding her breadcrumbs. Always pointing back to the Carvers. To Mark's failures. To old grudges. 'But who? Who has that kind of motivation?' She pulled up the list of investors who'd lost money in Mark's Japanese exchange collapse. Forty-seven names. Twelve of them had returned to the States since then. Three were in tech. One was— Her phone buzzed. Another anonymous email. [You're close. But you're looking at the wrong investors. Think bigger. Think per