Chapter 8 - The Legal Slaughter
Dozens of heavily armed DEA and FBI tactical agents flooded into the mansion, their weapons drawn, laser sights cutting through the smoke.
"Federal agents! Get on the ground! Show me your hands!"
Eleanor screamed as an agent tackled Pierce to the floor, zip-tying his wrists behind his back. Julian froze in terror, slowly raising his hands as two agents pinned him against the wall, frisking him for weapons.
I walked through the shattered front doors, my dress uniform perfectly pressed, my boots crunching over the broken mahogany. Flanking me were two federal prosecutors and a DEA task force commander.
Eleanor looked up from the floor, her face pressed against the marble, her diamond earrings scraping the stone. When she saw me, her eyes filled with a mixture of absolute hatred and sheer, unadulterated terror.
"You..." she hissed, spitting dust from her lips. "You set us up."
"I merely illuminated the dark," I replied coldly, looking down at her. "You thought you controlled the judges, Eleanor. But you forgot that federal RICO charges bypass local corruption. You laundered cartel money. You bribed medical officials. You ordered a kidnapping across state lines."
I turned to Julian, who was trembling, tears streaming down his face as the agents read him his Miranda rights.
"Julian," I said, stepping close enough for him to see the complete absence of mercy in my eyes. "My daughter's divorce papers have already been expedited. She takes the house, she takes your remaining legitimate assets, and she takes her life back. You, on the other hand, are going to a maximum-security federal facility. I hear cartel members don't take kindly to people who lose eighty million dollars of their money."
Julian sobbed, his knees buckling as the agents dragged him toward the door. "Please... please, Colonel. I'll do anything. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
May you like
"Tell it to the judge," I said.
I watched as the elite, untouchable Sterling dynasty was dragged out of their multi-million dollar mansion in handcuffs, shoved into the back of armored transport vans, entirely stripped of their power, their dignity, and their future.
