Chapter 8 - The Fall of the House of Bennett
An hour later, inside the high-rise executive suite of Bennett Development, Harrison and Blake sat waiting for a phone call from Marcus Rostov.
"They should have called by now," Blake whimpered, sweating through his shirt, pacing back and forth. "What if something went wrong?"
"Shut up!" Harrison snapped, though his own hands were shaking as he poured another drink. "Rostov sent twenty men! Dominic Vale is dead by now, and Emma is probably—"
BOOM.
The reinforced glass double doors of the executive suite were blasted inward off their hinges in a shower of flying safety glass and smoke.
Federal agents clad in FBI tactical vests poured into the room, guns drawn, alongside Chicago Police detectives.
"FEDERAL AGENTS! HANDS IN THE AIR! DON'T MOVE!" shouted the lead agent.
Harrison dropped his glass, staring in absolute, paralyzed horror as federal officers slammed Blake onto the marble floor, pulling his arms behind his back and clicking heavy steel handcuffs over his wrists.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Harrison screamed as two agents grabbed his arms. "I am Harrison Bennett! I own this building!"
Stepping through the smoke, dressed in an immaculate dark suit, walked Dominic Vale. Beside him stood the Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
"Harrison Bennett," the prosecutor announced loudly, holding up an official arrest warrant. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, financing an international terrorist organization, wire fraud, and grand larceny."
Harrison’s eyes bulged. "Murder?! I haven't killed anyone!"
"Ten minutes ago, federal authorities seized ten million dollars in illegal wire transfers from your offshore accounts to the Rostov Syndicate," the prosecutor replied coldly. "Nikolai Rostov is currently in federal custody, and he has already signed a full confession implicating you and your son in the hit ordered on Dominic Vale’s estate."
Harrison looked at Dominic Vale, his face turning grey with absolute defeat. "You... you trapped me..."
Dominic walked slowly up to Harrison. He reached out, gently picking up a framed photograph of Blake standing in front of the Bennett Development building from the desk.
"You threw away your daughter-in-law and your granddaughter because you thought power was built on men and money, Harrison," Dominic whispered, his voice vibrating with divine judgment. "You thought a daughter made your family weak."
Dominic dropped the picture frame onto the marble floor, where it shattered into pieces beneath his boot.
May you like
"Tomorrow, Bennett Development enters federal receivership," Dominic added smoothly. "And Emma Bennett will be appointed trustee over every single asset you ever built."
As federal agents dragged Harrison and Blake Bennett away in chains, shouting and weeping pathetically, Dominic turned and walked out of the ruined tower into the quiet Chicago night.
