Chapter 18 - The Reckoning in the Rain
"You're an escaped convict!" Victor screamed into the microphone, his polished facade cracking into pure hysteria. "Security, arrest him!" "The charges against Ethan were dropped two hours ago, Victor," Claire said, stepping up to the stage with absolute authority. "The thallium vial found in Ethan's study had your fingerprints on the cap, along with digital transfer records showing you purchased the poison from a dark-web vendor in Munich." Victor panicked. He lunged off the stage, shoving guests aside, and bolted toward the private roof access leading to his helipad. I sprinted after him, bursting onto the rain-slicked roof of the Drake Hotel just as a private helicopter was idling in the storm. Victor stood at the edge of the roof, holding a black hard drive containing the master encryption keys to the company’s offshore funds. "If I fall, the money disappears forever!" Victor screamed over the roar of the helicopter blades, the rain soaking his clothes. "You lose everything, Ethan!" "I don't care about the money, Victor!" I yelled back, stepping calmly into the freezing rain. "You stole thirty years of my life. You tried to kill my wife. You tried to ruin my children. It's over." Marcus and four armed federal officers stepped onto the helipad from the emergency exits, weapons raised. Victor looked over the edge of the twenty-story building, then back at the guns pointed at his chest. Realizing he had nowhere left to run, he dropped the hard drive into the rain and slowly raised his hands.
