Chapter 8: The Federal Hammer**
By sunrise, the rural county road was lined with marked federal vehicles. Special Agent Daniel Ramirez of the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped out of a black sedan, flashing his gold credential badge to Marcus.
The two hired thugs had already been apprehended at an urgent care clinic twenty miles south, where they sought treatment for a gunshot wound to the leg. Both men quickly folded under interrogation, confessing they were paid fifty thousand dollars in cash by Evelyn Sterling’s private estate security manager to retrieve Julian’s lockbox and "neutralize the threat."
"You did an exceptional job securing this evidence, Laura," Agent Ramirez said inside the mobile command unit, reviewing Julian’s flash drive. "Julian documented every single transaction with timestamped wire receipts. This is an open-and-shut case of systemic non-profit embezzlement totaling over eighteen million dollars."
"What about Evelyn?" Laura asked, her voice steady and resolute. "She tried to have my daughter and me killed last night."
"The U.S. District Court has just issued a federal arrest warrant for conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, witness intimidation, and grand wire fraud," Ramirez stated firmly. "There will be no bail this time. Her passport is flagged, and her accounts are frozen as of ten minutes ago."
At that moment, a junior agent entered the mobile unit, holding a radio. "Sir, the electronic monitoring unit reports Mrs. Sterling has disabled her ankle bracelet. Her penthouse is empty."
Laura felt a chill run down her spine. "She’s running."
"Where would she go?" Marcus asked.
Laura thought back to the family conversations she had overheard years ago. Julian had once mentioned a private airstrip nestled in the hills near the old family vineyard—a remote property registered under an obscure shell company name.
May you like
"I know exactly where she is," Laura said, looking Marcus dead in the eye. "And I'm coming with you."
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