Chapter 9 - THE CHECKMATE
The police sirens wailed in the distance. Alessandro's FBI contact had been notified. It was time to hand over the king.
Vane was on his knees, clutching his bleeding hand, his aristocratic face twisted in pain and fury. "You think this makes you legitimate, Duca? You're a thug. Your father was a thug. You'll always be criminal scum."
Alessandro looked down at him with utter disdain. "My father was a survivor. I am a businessman. And you? You are just a parasite who thought he was a predator."
He handed the flash drive to Cassidy. "Do it."
Cassidy stepped forward. She looked down at the man who had framed her father, who had ruined her family's life, who had just threatened her mother. She didn't feel fear anymore. She felt power.
She plugged the drive into her phone, opened a secure app she had coded hours earlier, and hit a single button.
"What did you do?" Vane snarled.
"I just forwarded your entire financial history, your offshore accounts, your bribery logs, and the evidence of your frame-up of Thomas Miller to the FBI, the SEC, the IRS, and the New York Times," Cassidy said coldly. "Your empire is gone, Vane. And you're going to spend the rest of your life in a cell exactly like the one my father died in."
The FBI tactical teams swarmed the warehouse moments later. Alessandro's men faded into the shadows, disappearing before the authorities arrived. Only Alessandro, Cassidy, and her mother remained.
As the agents slapped cuffs on the screaming, bleeding Harrison Vane, the lead FBI agent walked up to Alessandro.
"Mr. Duca," the agent said, a hint of grudging respect in his voice. "We received the data dump. It's... extensive."
"I am merely a concerned citizen, Agent," Alessandro said smoothly, his hands in his pockets. "Miss Miller here is the true hero. She uncovered a massive conspiracy that almost defrauded my legitimate businesses."
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The agent nodded. "We'll need statements."
"Of course," Alessandro agreed. He looked at Cassidy, a slow, breathtaking smile spreading across his face. "We have nothing to hide."
