Chapter 6 - THE ACCOUNTING
Bennett’s face drained of color as he realized the red dots scattered across his body meant his life was measured in milliseconds.
"Drop the weapon," I commanded.
Bennett’s hand trembled. The bravado evaporated instantly. The gun slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the marble floor.
My operators surged forward, slamming Bennett and his guards to the ground, zip-tying their wrists and disarming them within seconds.
I stepped over the fallen weapons and walked into the grand foyer of the home I had been banned from for two decades.
The smell of old wood, expensive cigars, and fresh flowers still lingered in the air, mixed now with the metallic tang of blood and rain.
Julian stepped forward with tactical shears, cutting the heavy ropes holding Conrad and Damian to the chairs.
Damian collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching his wrist where the rope had burned his skin. "Thank God... thank God... Elise, you saved us... you saved the family..."
I didn't look at Damian.
I stood directly in front of Conrad, who remained sitting in the chair, his head bowed, his hands resting limply on his knees.
"The federal marshals are five minutes behind us, Conrad," I said.
Conrad slowly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, heavy with a weight he had avoided carrying his entire life.
"You brought them here?" he whispered.
"No," I replied. "Your actions brought them here. Damian’s fraud, your money laundering with the Vales, twenty years of corruption. It ends tonight."
"Elise..." Conrad rasped, his voice trembling as he reached out, trying to take my hand. "I gave you life. I built this empire for this family... for you, for Damian, for Julian..."
"You built this empire for your pride," I said, stepping back so his fingers grasped only cold air. "When I was nineteen, you told me to go become nothing. You told me the world would teach me what I was worth."
I took a deep breath, letting the rain-scented air fill my lungs.
"The world taught me that worth isn't bought with champagne, foreign ports, or gold-trimmed invitations," I continued. "Worth is earned in the dark, in the storm, when nobody is watching."
"Elise... please," Damian begged from the floor, grabbing at the hem of my trench coat. "We're blood! You can't let them take us to prison! Use your rank! Call the Department of Justice!"
I looked down at my brother, the boy who had laughed while my suitcases were thrown into the rain.
May you like
"I am an Admiral of the United States Navy, Damian," I said, kicking my leg free from his grasp. "Not your get-out-of-jail card."
Outside, blue and red police lights illuminated the rain, reflecting off the high stained-glass windows of the foyer. Heavy footsteps echoed up the grand stairs as federal agents pushed through the front doors with arrest warrants in hand.
