Chapter 8
"Good," Clara said coldly, her voice devoid of any hesitation. "If Maya can't use her own research to cure people, then no one profits from her sweat."
Marcus lunged toward the console with desperate energy, attempting to hit the resume command, but Julian intercepted him, throwing a hard right hook that sent Marcus crashing into a rack of external hard drives. Metal chassis rattled against the floor, and sparks showered briefly from a loose power cable. Marcus slumped against the base of the rack, holding a bleeding lip with a trembling hand.
"You're insane," Marcus spat, blood staining his white dress shirt. "You're destroying billions of dollars in medical breakthroughs. The Board of Directors will destroy you both for this. We own the legal team, the auditors, and half the municipal judges in this county."
"Then it's a good thing I brought my own paperwork," a calm, resonant voice echoed from the doorway.
Julian and Clara turned to see Detective Miller of the Chicago Police Department stepping into the server room, flanked by two uniformed officers. Miller held up a digital recorder and a thick sheaf of legal warrants signed by a federal magistrate less than twenty minutes prior.
"We’ve been monitoring Marcus Vance’s shell accounts for six months," Miller said, walking calmly past the blinking server racks. He stopped in front of Marcus and pulled a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his tactical belt. "Corporate embezzlement is bad enough, Mr. Vance, but conspiring to poison a lead researcher and framing your own relatives for murder crosses the line from white-collar crime to federal terrorism."
Marcus stared at the handcuffs with absolute disbelief. The veneer of corporate invulnerability finally cracked, leaving behind a terrified, small-minded man whose ambitions had outstripped his conscience. "I want my lawyer," Marcus whispered, holding his wrists out mechanically as the cold steel clicked shut.
"You'll have plenty of time to consult with counsel while awaiting arraignment," Miller replied, motioning for the officers to haul Marcus to his feet. As they led him past Clara, Marcus glared at her with venomous hatred, but she returned his gaze with an unblinking, statuesque calm.
When the room emptied, leaving only Julian, Clara, and the detective, the heavy weight that had hung over the Vance family for years seemed to lift, dissolving into the hum of the cooling fans.
May you like
Miller turned to Julian. "Your security team outside gave us a full confession about the hospital tampering. Your wife’s attending physician has already countermanded the falsified chart notes. She's going to pull through, Mr. Vance."
Julian let out a long, shuddering breath, closing his eyes as a wave of profound relief washed over his exhausted frame.
