Chapter 9 - The Public Execution
The flashing red and blue lights illuminated the living room.
"What is that?" Chloe panicked, scrambling to her feet. "Did you call the police for a broken window?!"
"No," I said calmly. "I called the FBI."
The front door, which I had unlocked moments before, swung open. Four federal agents stepped into the foyer, rain dripping from their tactical jackets.
"Chloe Vance?" the lead agent asked, stepping into the living room.
"Yes?" she choked out.
"You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit corporate espionage, wire fraud, and grand larceny," he stated, pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt.
"What? No! I didn't do anything!" she screamed, fighting as the agents grabbed her arms and slammed her against the wall to cuff her. She turned her desperate, tear-streaked face toward me. "Alexander, tell them! Tell them it's a misunderstanding! You love me!"
I stood with my hands in my pockets, my face a mask of absolute indifference.
"I recorded you, Chloe," I said simply. "I recorded you threatening my mother. I recorded you conspiring with Julian Thorne at the gala. I recorded you stealing the shadow code from my laptop. I handed it all to the Bureau this morning."
Her eyes widened in sheer horror as the totality of her destruction finally registered. The wedding planner, the charity galas, the pristine public image—it was all gone. She wasn't going to a luxury penthouse; she was going to federal prison.
"You're a monster!" she screamed hysterically as the agents dragged her toward the door. "You're a psychopath!"
"I am exactly what you asked for," I replied quietly.
May you like
I watched as they shoved her into the back of the cruiser. The rain washed over the driveway, cleaning the slate. I closed the front door, turned the deadbolt, and finally exhaled.
The house was quiet again.
