CHAPTER 6 — THE FBI WALKED INTO THE ROOM... BUT THEY WEREN'T THERE FOR ME
Monday morning.
The ballroom of the Hilton Downtown Dallas buzzed with executives attending the National Logistics Leadership Conference.
I was halfway through my keynote speech when the ballroom doors opened.
Two men wearing dark suits walked inside.
Conversations stopped instantly.
Someone whispered,
"Federal agents."
Every eye turned toward me.
Linda, sitting in the back beside Ethan, couldn't hide her excitement.
"I told you," she whispered.
"They're finally arresting her."
Ethan almost smiled.
The agents continued walking.
Straight toward the stage.
The room held its breath.
One agent displayed his badge.
"Mrs. Parker?"
"Yes."
"We need a moment of your time."
Linda could barely contain herself.
Several reporters lifted their cameras.
The agent turned toward the audience.
Then said words no one expected.
"We're investigating an attempt to steal proprietary corporate information."
"The victim is Parker Freight Solutions."
Gasps echoed through the ballroom.
The second agent placed a folder on the podium.
Inside were login records.
Digital fingerprints.
Video surveillance.
Signed agreements.
Every document pointed to one person.
Ethan Carter.
He stood so quickly his chair crashed onto the floor.
"This is a mistake!"
The lead investigator calmly shook his head.
"No, Mr. Carter."
"It became a federal matter the moment interstate commercial data was involved."
Linda rushed forward.
"My son was set up!"
I finally spoke.
"No."
"He was given a choice."
"He chose greed."
The ballroom fell silent as the investigator revealed the final piece of evidence.
The so-called confidential server Ethan had accessed had been operating under federal monitoring after our company reported repeated cyber intrusion attempts months earlier.
Every action.
Every download.
Every message exchanged with Victor.
Had been documented.
Ethan slowly turned toward Victor.
Only to discover...
Victor was now standing beside me.
Removing the visitor badge he had worn for weeks.
He extended his hand.
"Pleasure working with you again, Claire."
Ethan's face went completely pale.
"You... worked for her?"
Victor smiled calmly.
"From the very beginning."
As federal investigators escorted Ethan out of the ballroom, dozens of cameras flashed.
Linda collapsed into a chair, whispering over and over,
"How did she know?"
I watched the elevator doors close behind them.
May you like
Then my phone vibrated with a message from my attorney.
Congratulations. One final secret remains. It's time to tell Ethan who really financed his entire career before he ever met you.
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