Chapter 17 - The Federal Ace
The clock on the dashboard read 7:45 AM as our sedan pulled up outside the federal building downtown.
We weren't alone. In the passenger seat beside me sat an unexpected ally—Special Agent Vance from the FBI field office, whom I had managed to contact through a secure, encrypted burner phone late last night after decoding the hidden admin files on Elena's flash drive.
"You're sure about this, Mrs. Vance?" Special Agent Vance asked, adjusting his trench coat as he looked over the printed transaction logs spread across my lap. "Julian Vance is one of the most powerful men in this state. If we move on these corporate espionage files without absolute ironclad corroboration, his legal team will tie us up in injunctions for years."
"It's not just corporate espionage, Agent," I replied, handing him a folded piece of heavy parchment paper. "It's child endangerment, witness tampering, and racketeering. And I have the one witness Julian never anticipated."
The agent unfolded the paper, his eyes scanning the certified medical affidavit and the hand-signed deposition statement. As he read the signature at the bottom, his eyebrows shot up in genuine astonishment.
"Good God," the agent breathed out. "Is this authentic?"
May you like
"Signed, sealed, and notarized three days before she died," I nodded firmly. "Elena knew Julian was tracking her. She set up a dead-man's switch that automatically triggers a full public disclosure to the national press if anything happens to James, me, or the baby within forty-eight hours of a legal challenge."
James reached across the console and squeezed my hand tightly. His eyes were burning with a fierce, quiet pride. "Let's go end this."
