Chapter 18 - The Shadow of the CartelThe seizure of the Swiss millions was a major victory for the Department of Justice, but it also made me a target.
The Valdez cartel, having lost over eighteen million dollars in total assets due to my whistleblowing, was not a group to accept financial losses quietly. While my father was safely behind bars, his former contacts in the Mexican underworld were still active, and they wanted their money back—or they wanted revenge.
It was a rainy Tuesday night in November when the threat finally became physical.
I was walking from the subway station toward my new river-facing apartment, the streetlights reflecting off the wet pavement, when I noticed a dark sedan with tinted windows creeping along the curb behind me.
I accelerated my pace, my heart hammering against my ribs. I reached into my bag, my fingers wrapping around my pepper spray, but before I could reach the entrance of my building, two men in dark jackets stepped out from the shadows of the alleyway, blocking my path.
"Miss Bennett," one of them said, his voice carrying a thick, flat accent. He didn't draw a weapon, but his hand was tucked significantly inside his pocket. "We have a message from the Valdez family. They say your father owed them a debt, and since you took his assets, you now own his liabilities."
"I don't have their money," I said, my voice steady despite the sheer panic coursing through my veins. "The federal government has it. It's in the US Treasury."
"They don't care about the Treasury, Miss Bennett," the man said, taking a step closer. "They care about results. You have forty-eight hours to find a way to access those frozen accounts in Zurich, or we will show your younger brother how cold a concrete floor can be."
Suddenly, the headlights of a heavy SUV swept across the alleyway, blinding the two men. The vehicle pulled up to the curb with a sharp screech of its tires, and three federal agents in tactical gear stepped out, their weapons drawn.
"Federal agents! Drop your hands and step away from the woman!"
The two men didn't hesitate. They turned and sprinted down the dark alleyway, disappearing into the maze of industrial warehouses near the river before the agents could pursue them.
Sarah Vance stepped out of the SUV, her face pale with concern as she ran toward me. "Emily! Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," I gasped, my hands shaking as I let go of my pepper spray. "How did you know they were here?"
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"We've been monitoring your father’s old associate's phone calls from prison," Sarah said, wrapping her coat around my shoulders. "He made a call to a burner phone in Mexico yesterday. He gave them your address, Emily. He’s trying to use the cartel to finish what he started."
She looked down the dark alleyway where the men had fled. "You aren't staying in this apartment anymore. We're moving you into a federal safe house tonight. And we're going to put an end to Richard Bennett's communications once and for all."
