Chapter 4 - Shadows at the GatesThe flashing blue and red lights of three squad cars painted the white marble pillars of the foyer in an eerie, pulsing strobe.
Two uniformed officers stood by the grand staircase, notebooks in hand, while a pair of plainclothes detectives from the state financial crimes unit spoke quietly with Maria in the kitchen.
Vanessa sat on the velvet bench near the front door, wrapped in a heavy wool blanket that one of the officers had given her to stop her shivering. Her designer handbag lay open on the floor, its contents—passport, credit cards, diamond-encrusted compact—spread out across the coffee table as evidence.
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the rain begin to slick the cobblestone driveway outside.
My phone vibrated in my palm.
It was a text message from Agent Vance at Blackwood Investigations: “Apex Industries headquarters in downtown Seattle has just been raided by federal agents. Arthur Vance’s chief financial officer is cooperating. They have your stolen propulsion schematics.”
I let out a slow, steady breath, the tension that had gripped my shoulders for the past eighteen months finally beginning to loosen.
The front door opened, and a tall, sharp-featured man in a tailored charcoal suit stepped inside, flashing an FBI badge to the officers at the door. He walked straight toward me, his raincoat glistening with raindrops.
“Mr. Mercer?” he asked, extending a hand. “Agent Miller, Federal Bureau of Investigation, White-Collar Crime Division.”
We shook hands firmly. “Agent. I assume you received the data packet my investigator sent over?”
“We did,” Miller said, glancing over at Vanessa, who shrank back under the blanket. “It’s one of the cleanest industrial espionage packages we’ve seen in a decade. Audio recordings, bank transfers from offshore accounts controlled by Arthur Vance, and encrypted communications proving she transmitted proprietary aerospace designs directly to Apex servers.”
Miller pulled a small tablet from his leather portfolio and tapped the screen. “She’s looking at a minimum of ten to fifteen years under the Economic Espionage Act. And as for Arthur Vance... his board of directors has already initiated emergency removal proceedings.”
“Good,” I said coldly. “Make sure every single transaction is documented for the civil forfeiture proceedings. I want every asset Apex tried to siphon from my company returned down to the last cent.”
“Consider it done, Mr. Mercer.”
Agent Miller turned to the two uniformed officers. “Escort the suspect to the transport vehicle. Read her her rights.”
Vanessa stood up, the blanket slipping from her shoulders and pooling on the marble floor. She didn't look at the officers. She looked straight at me, her dark eyes burning with a mixture of hatred and absolute disbelief.
“You planned this, didn't you?” she hissed, her voice shaking as the female officer gently gripped her arm. “You never loved me. You were testing me all along.”
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“No, Vanessa,” I said, turning to face her with total, unshakeable calm. “I trusted you completely. You were the one who failed the test.”
She opened her mouth to scream, but the heavy oak door swung shut behind her, cutting off her voice as the officers led her out into the cold Seattle rain.
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