Chapter 9 - The Truth Comes to Light
Within ten minutes, the lobby was swarming with federal agents, local police, and paramedics.
Flashlights swept across the shattered glass, casting long, dancing shadows against the marble walls.
Viktor and his men were cuffed and dragged out toward waiting transport vans.
Marcus stood nearby, accepting a roll of gauze from a paramedic to wrap around a cut on his forehead.
Julian and Maya sat together on the back of an ambulance, wrapped in silver thermal blankets, watching the chaos unfold.
A tall, sharp-featured man in an expensive federal suit walked up to them, flashing a gold badge.
"Mr. Sterling? I’m Special Agent Vance, FBI Financial Crimes Unit."
Julian stood up, extending a hand.
"Agent Vance. I assume you received the data packages I uploaded from the basement?"
Agent Vance nodded, a grim smile touching his lips.
"We did. Your flash drive contained enough forensic evidence to indict half the corporate elite in New York, including your mother and her entire inner circle."
"Will she make bail?" Maya asked quietly, her eyes locking onto the federal agent.
Agent Vance shook his head.
"Not a chance, Mrs. Sterling. We tied her directly to the offshore money laundering accounts and the attempted hit on your life. She’s facing federal racketeering and attempted murder charges with no bail option."
Julian let out a long breath, feeling the last thirty years of invisible chains finally snap away from his shoulders.
"Thank you, Agent."
"Just doing our job, Mr. Sterling. Though I have to say, taking down your own family empire takes a lot of guts."
"It wasn't an empire," Julian said softly, looking down at Maya, who took his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"It was a prison."
Agent Vance tipped his hat and walked away to confer with his team.
The cold Manhattan air whipped around them, but neither of them felt cold anymore.
May you like
The storm had passed.
The wreckage of the past was scattered across the floor, waiting to be swept away.
