Chapter 18 - THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
By sunrise, the rain had stopped, leaving the valley washed clean and smelling of pine and fresh earth. Federal agents and state police vehicles filled the driveway, their red and blue lights flashing against the morning fog.
Because of the evidence Logan had collected—and Vance’s full confession under federal interrogation—the entire international Syndicate, along with their corrupt ties to Sterling Global, was exposed and dismantled in one massive sweep.
Victoria Sterling sat on the back of an ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Federal agents stood nearby, waiting to take her into custody for her complicity in corporate fraud and illegal mercenary operations.
Logan walked up to her.
Victoria looked up, her expensive veneer completely shattered. "You could have come back with me, Logan. We could have rebuilt it all together."
Logan looked at her with pity, but no anger. "You still don't get it, Victoria. You think power is built in boardrooms and measured in billions. But everything you have can be taken away in a single night."
He turned and looked back at the cabin, where Nora was talking to Sheriff Thomas, sharing a thermos of hot coffee.
"That over there?" Logan pointed toward the cabin and Nora. "That's real. That's something you can't buy, and something you'll never understand."
Victoria stayed silent, her head bowing as the federal agents escorted her into a police cruiser. She was gone from his life forever.
Sheriff Thomas walked over to Logan, handing him a stack of official documents.
May you like
"Federal prosecutor signed off on everything, Logan," Thomas said with a warm smile. "Self-defense, full immunity. As far as the government is concerned, Logan the operative died years ago. You're just Logan the mechanic now."
Logan took the papers and tore them in half, letting them float away in the morning breeze. "Good. I was getting tired of paperwork."
