Chapter 5 - The Fed at the PenthouseTwo hours earlier, while Warren was being restrained in the basement, little Lily Parker had handed Adrian something else before running back to her mother.
It wasn't a drawing.
It was a small, encrypted USB flash drive that she had found taped underneath the bottom drawer of Dr. Warren’s medical supply chest while playing hide-and-seek the previous afternoon.
Children notice everything.
Adrian had plugged that drive into his mainframe and discovered three years' worth of offshore bank transfers, encrypted emails between the Sutton family and federal prosecutors, and complete blueprints of the conspiracy to frame Adrian’s syndicate for federal treason.
He hadn't called the local police. He had bypassed them entirely, sending the package directly to a federal counter-intelligence unit that owed Adrian an old debt.
Now, on the living room television screen, which Adrian had switched on with a remote, a live news broadcast flashed across the banner:
BREAKING NEWS: BILLIONAIRE INDUSTRIALIST ARTHUR SUTTON ARRESTED IN DAWN CORRUPTION AND ESPIONAGE RAID.
Images of federal agents in tactical gear hauling Arthur Sutton out of his Park Avenue penthouse in handcuffs filled the screen.
Daniel Mercer collapsed onto the Persian rug, sobbing uncontrollably.
The two Sutton security guards slowly unholstered their firearms, looking at each other, realizing their paychecks had just vanished into a frozen federal asset account.
"Drop them," Adrian commanded.
Neither guard moved to raise their weapons. Instead, they dropped their sidearms clattering to the floor and raised their hands.
Adrian looked down at Claire. The formidable ice queen of New York was now shivering, her immaculate hair disheveled, staring at the television screen in absolute horror.
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"You're a monster," she whispered, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "You let us walk right into it."
"No," Adrian corrected her, stepping over the shattered coffee cup. "I just waited patiently for the music to start again."
