Chapter 14 - The Digital SiegeFor the next forty-eight hours, the Rinaldi study turned into a war room.
Gone were the ledgers of blood and extortion. Instead, dual monitors glowed in the dark room, casting blue light across Claire’s focused face as she hammered away at the keyboard. Dante stood behind her, acting as her human shield and tactical advisor, while Henry Brandt handled the legal counter-strikes.
"Got them," Claire whispered, her fingers flying across the keys.
On the screen, a complex web of offshore accounts belonging to Donato’s front corporations lit up in red.
"What are we looking at?" Dante asked, leaning in close, his chest brushing against Claire’s shoulder, sending a sudden, electric shock through her veins.
"Donato isn't just skimming from the shipping ports," Claire said, pointing to a series of hidden transactions. "He’s laundering money through federal infrastructure grants meant for public schools in Hartford—including Rosie’s school."
Dante’s expression darkened into an absolute, freezing rage. "He’s stealing from children."
"Not anymore," Claire clicked her mouse with finality. "I just routed all of those funds into an encrypted escrow account controlled by the state attorney general, attached with a whistle-blower report bearing Donato’s digital signature."
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A slow, terrifying grin spread across Dante’s face. "You didn't just beat him at his own game, Claire. You legally handed him to the federal government on a silver platter."
Before Claire could reply, the secure terminal pinged with an incoming federal alert. Donato’s corporate empire was collapsing in real-time.
