Chapter 19 - The Fall of the Architect
The mercenaries panicked. With blinding spotlights overhead and the mounted guns of the federal cutter locked onto their positions, two of them immediately threw down their rifles and threw their hands into the air.
"Fools! Shoot them! Shoot them now!" Julian shrieked, losing his aristocratic composure, clawing at his coat to draw a weapon of his own.
Daniel surged forward like a lion unchained.
Before Julian could raise his pistol, Daniel closed the distance, his fist striking Julian's jaw with the force of a sledgehammer. The silver-haired tyrant crashed onto the wet planks of the pier, his gun clattering into the ocean below.
Federal tactical teams swarmed the dock, pinning the remaining mercenaries against the rocks with swift, lethal coordination. Agent Dupont leapt from the gangway of the cutter, his badge flashing under the spotlights, his team subduing Julian in heavy steel restraints.
Julian spat blood onto the wet timber, his venomous gaze burning into Daniel and me as they dragged him to his feet. "You think you've won, Clara? You think this ends here? That money is cursed! The people behind me will tear your life apart until nothing remains!"
"Take him away," Daniel ordered coldly, not flinching.
Agent Dupont pushed Julian toward the cutter, but paused beside me, his eyes landing on the gold drive in my hand. "Is that what I think it is, Mrs. Vance?"
"Everything is on this drive, Agent Dupont," I said, handing it over with steady hands. "Every transaction, every offshore holding, and every corrupt official Julian and Brandon ever bribed. Put an end to this."
Dupont took the drive, tipping his cap respectfully. "Consider it done. Paramedics are on the cutter. Let's get you and the boy checked out."
Victoria stood drenched and shivering on the dock, weeping as federal agents approached her with handcuffs. She looked at me, her eyes hollow, stripped of all arrogance and beauty.
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"What's going to happen to me?" she whispered, trembling.
"You'll testify," I said without an ounce of pity, watching the agents secure her wrists. "You will tell the jury every single lie Brandon told, every dime he stole, and you will serve your time. But unlike Brandon, you chose to walk away before you pulled the trigger. That is the only mercy you will get."