Chapter 7 - THE FEDERAL RAID ON CARTER MANORBy dawn, federal search warrants stamped with a federal judge’s emergency signature were executed simultaneously across three locations: the Carter family’s sprawling suburban estate, Vivian Carter’s private art gallery, and the private medical vaults of Sterling & Holt.
Amelia stood behind the police tape outside Carter Manor, watching tactical units swarm the iron gates.
Vivian Carter was hauled out of the front doors in a silk bathrobe, screaming obscenities at the cameras as federal agents loaded boxes of cash, encrypted hard drives, and historical medical ledgers into the back of a van.
"You're destroying a pillar of this community!" Vivian shrieked, her face twisted in rage as flashbulbs blinded her. "You have no jurisdiction! My family built this city!"
Marcus Vance was arrested ten minutes later at the municipal airport trying to board a private charter flight to the Cayman Islands, his jaw swollen and bandaged from where Amelia's clipboard had connected.
Special Agent Thomas Reed walked over to Amelia, handing her a steaming cup of black coffee from a mobile unit.
"We found the secondary laboratory in the basement of the estate, Dr. Carter," Reed said, checking his clipboard. "Complete with chemical storage matching the succinylcholine samples you identified in Clara Vance’s file. Your forensic breakdown was spot-on. Every single charge—embezzlement, obstruction, conspiracy, and historical homicide—is locked in."
Amelia took the coffee, her hands finally steadying. She looked up at the grand, imposing facade of the mansion where she had spent seven years playing the role of the devoted, silenced wife.
"They thought they could bury the evidence because they controlled the people holding the shovels," Amelia said softly.
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"What happens to Evan now?" Reed asked.
"Evan is going to experience something his family has avoided for generations," Amelia replied, turning away from the estate. "Accountability."
