Chapter 26 - The Prosecutor’s Dilemma
Noah Vance sat behind his gleaming mahogany desk in the federal courthouse downtown, staring at the thick stack of seizure reports dropped onto his desk by Agent Marcus Vance.
“You exceeded your jurisdiction, Agent Vance,” Noah said, his voice cold and steady as he flipped through the documents. “You raided a primary corporate partner of Vanguard Global without coordinating with my office.”
“I didn't need to coordinate,” Marcus retorted, leaning over the desk with a triumphant smirk. “Those files contain proof that your sister, Claire Russo, and her husband are running a multi-million-dollar money laundering scheme tied to the old Chicago Outfit. Look at page fourteen, prosecutor. Her maiden name is right there on the primary trust.”
Noah didn't flinch. He slowly closed the folder, raised his ice-blue eyes—identical in intensity to his sister’s—and looked straight into Marcus’s eyes.
“You think my sister is running a criminal syndicate, Agent Vance?” Noah asked quietly.
“I know she is.”
“Then you must not have read page fifteen,” Noah replied, sliding a secondary classified document across the desk toward Marcus.
Marcus frowned, picking up the paper. His eyes scanned the first few lines, and instantly, all the color drained from his face.
It wasn't a criminal indictment against Claire. It was an official federal audit and corruption probe into the political action committee funding Agent Marcus Vance’s task force—backed by documented proof that Marcus had accepted illegal campaign donations from rival New York syndicates to manufacture a fraudulent case against Vanguard Global.
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“This... this is fabricated,” Marcus stammered, backing away from the desk.
“It’s a federal subpoena, Marcus,” Noah said, standing up slowly, his expression an impassive mask of justice. “And it was signed twenty minutes ago. Turn in your badge and your firearm, or be arrested for obstruction of justice and conspiracy with rival criminal syndicates.”
