Chapter 6 - The Federal Hammer
It all came crashing down on a rainy Tuesday morning.
I was sitting in Evelyn’s office, sipping Earl Grey tea, watching the local news on the flat-screen TV.
“BREAKING NEWS: Local Construction Mogul Arrested in Sweeping Bribery Probe.”
The screen showed footage of the FBI raiding Daniel’s former office.
Agents in windbreakers were carrying out boxes of hard drives and documents.
The next shot was even better.
It was Daniel, wearing a cheap grey hoodie, his hands cuffed behind his back, being shoved into the back of a federal vehicle.
He looked small. Pathetic.
“They got Marcus Vale, too,” Evelyn noted, tapping her pen against her desk. “And Vanessa’s brother.”
“What about Vanessa?” I asked.
Evelyn smiled. “Vanessa tried to cut a deal. She went to the feds and offered to testify against Daniel in exchange for immunity.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did they take it?”
“No,” Evelyn laughed. “Because thanks to your impeccable forensic work, they already had all the evidence they needed. She had nothing to offer them. They indicted her for accessory to wire fraud and money laundering.”
I leaned back in my leather chair, a deep, satisfying sigh escaping my lips.
The irony was beautiful.
Vanessa had thought I was stupid. A nobody. A woman with no power and nowhere to go.
In reality, I had been the architect of her absolute destruction.
They had built their little romance on stolen money, arrogance, and my supposed ignorance.
Now, the money was gone. The arrogance was shattered.
And the ignorant housewife had just handed them a one-way ticket to federal prison.
My phone buzzed. It was a text from the private investigator we had hired to monitor the fallout.
“Daniel is begging for a public defender. His accounts are completely drained.”
I forwarded the text to Evelyn.
“So,” she said, looking at me over her glasses. “The divorce proceedings. Shall we go for maximum blood?”
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“Take it all,” I said simply. “He owes my father's estate every penny he stole.”
Evelyn’s eyes gleamed. “With pleasure.”
