Chapter 4 - The House of Cards Collapses
The sight of federal agents advancing toward the stage broke Daniel’s composure completely.
"Get away from me!" Daniel roared, knocking over the podium and sending microphones clattering across the stage floor. "You have no warrant! You have no right! I am the CEO of Vance Global!"
"You were the CEO," I said, stepping up to the edge of the stage, looking down at him. "At 4:00 PM today, the board of directors held an emergency meeting based on the forensic server logs I provided. You have been officially removed from your position, your stock options have been frozen, and the company has filed a civil lawsuit against you for forty million dollars in embezzled funds."
Vanessa tried to slip away toward the side exit, but two female FBI agents blocked her path, snapping cold steel handcuffs around her manicured wrists.
"Let go of me!" Vanessa screamed, her voice cracking into a high-pitched panic. "I didn't do anything! It was all Daniel! He planned the whole thing! He told me the children were already taken care of! I was just sitting in the car!"
The entire ballroom full of reporters and business tycoons heard her desperate confession. Dozens of smartphones were held high in the air, recording every second of her breakdown, broadcasting it live to millions of viewers online.
"Vanessa, shut your mouth!" Daniel bellowed, lunging toward her, but Agent Roy and two officers tackled him to the stage floor, pinning his arms behind his back.
As the steel handcuffs clicked shut around Daniel’s wrists, he lifted his head from the carpet, his eyes wild, bloodshot, and filled with venomous hatred as he stared up at me.
"You think you won, Clara?!" Daniel spat, a red smear of blood on his lip where his mouth had hit the floor. "You have no physical proof that I set off the gas line! The smartwatch audio is inadmissible! Detective Miller already cleared the scene! You're going to spend millions on lawyers, and I'll be out on bail by tomorrow morning!"
I crouched down until I was at eye level with him.
"Detective Miller was arrested thirty minutes ago at his home, Daniel," I whispered gently into his ear. "We found the three million dollars you transferred to his offshore account in the Caymans. He's currently in a federal interrogation room, signing a full confession to avoid a life sentence for obstruction of justice in a capital murder case."
Daniel’s face drained of every drop of color. His jaw loosened, his body going completely limp against the floor as the reality of his total downfall finally crashed over him.
"Take them away," Agent Roy ordered.
The federal agents dragged Daniel and Vanessa off the stage, marching them down the center aisle of the ballroom past hundreds of flashing camera lights and disgusted onlookers.
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I stood alone on the stage, looking up at the large photograph of Emma and Ethan on the screen.
The first step was complete. But I knew this wasn't over. A wounded animal with cornered millions would fight with everything it had left in court. And I was going to make sure he received no mercy.
