Chapter 6 - The Ultimate Checkmate
The interrogation room at the federal plaza was stark, lit by a single, buzzing fluorescent light. I sat on one side of the metal table, my hands cuffed to the bar. Across from me sat Special Agent Miller, the lead investigator on the Rossi RICO case.
Dominic was in the adjacent room, separated by a two-way mirror.
“It’s over, Mrs. Vance,” Agent Miller said, tossing a thick stack of data logs onto the table. “We found the encryption key on your phone. It contains the complete financial ledger of the Rossi family. Dominic Rossi thought he was hiring a defense attorney, but you brought us everything we needed to put him away for life. Thank you for your cooperation.”
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Dominic was led in by two guards. He was cuffed, but his expression was completely calm. He looked at me, his eyes dark, searching my face for the truth.
“You set me up, Scarlett?” Dominic asked, his voice low, dangerously quiet. “The bar, the contract, the warehouse... it was all a play to get close to my files?”
Agent Miller smirked. “She did what any smart lawyer would do, Rossi. She saved herself. She traded you to clear her own name regarding her husband’s corporate espionage.”
I looked at Dominic. The silence in the room stretched until it became unbearable.
Then, slowly, the corner of my mouth turned up into a cold, brilliant smile. I leaned back in my chair, the handcuffs rattling against the metal table.
“Agent Miller,” I said, my voice dripping with absolute condescension. “You really should have read the fine print of the data you downloaded from my phone.”
Miller’s smile faltered. “What are you talking about?”
“The encryption key you found on my phone wasn't a transmission of Dominic’s files to the FBI,” I explained, my voice echoing with absolute authority. “It was a proxy mirror. The moment your tech team plugged my phone into your mainframe to download that ledger, you didn't extract data. You uploaded a virus that just wiped the entire federal database on the Rossi Syndicate.”
Miller stood up so fast his chair flew backward. “What?! That’s impossible!”
Just then, the glass window of the interrogation room shattered as the fire alarms began to blare throughout the entire building. The lights flickered and died, plunging the room into darkness, leaving only the red emergency lights casting a bloody glow over us.
The door burst open. It wasn't federal agents. It was Marcus and three of Dominic’s men, wearing tactical gear. Within three seconds, the two guards were unconscious on the floor, and Miller was pinned against the wall with a gun to his throat.
Marcus quickly unlocked Dominic’s cuffs, then turned to unlock mine.
Dominic stood up, rubbing his wrists, his eyes staring at me with a mixture of shock, awe, and an intense, burning desire.
“You planned this,” Dominic breathed, realized the sheer genius of the play. “Before you even met me at the bar.”
“I’m a litigation lawyer, Dominic,” I said, standing up and shaking out my wrists. “I knew Derek was cheating on me three months ago. I also knew he was working with the Bratva, and I knew the FBI was building a case against you using illegal wiretaps. I didn't go to that bar by accident. I went there to find a partner who could help me flip the entire board.”
I walked up to Agent Miller, who was trembling against the wall. I reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his official badge, tossing it onto the floor.
“The federal case against Dominic Rossi is completely erased,” I told him smoothly. “And if you ever try to come after us again, I will release the recordings of your department accepting bribes from the Bratva to target the Rossi family. Have a nice night, Agent.”
Dominic laughed—a loud, triumphant sound that echoed through the chaotic, darkened building. He grabbed my hand, pulling me close against his chest as his men cleared a path to the exit.
“Where to now, counselor?” Dominic asked, his eyes burning with the realization that together, we were completely untouchable.
I looked out the window at the New York skyline stretching out beneath us. Derek and Ashley were headed to a federal prison for corporate treason, the FBI was crippled, and the city’s criminal underworld was officially under new management.
May you like
I turned to Dominic, my smile dangerous and beautiful.
“Let’s go back to the bar, Mr. Rossi. I believe you still owe me a glass of wine in your reserved seat.”
