Chapter 4: The Digital Hard Drive
At 2:00 AM, Sebastian met with Special Agent Clara Higgins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the estate’s private security bunker.
The room was illuminated by eight high-resolution monitors displaying the Miramar security architecture.
""Look at this pattern, Sebastian,"" Agent Higgins said, typing on her keyboard.
Over the past three years, Evelyn Sterling and her corporate associates had filed four separate multi-million-dollar insurance claims for ""stolen"" jewelry during high-society charity events:
* **2024:** A sapphire brooch in Palm Beach ($450,000 claim).
* **2025:** An emerald choker in Aspen ($800,000 claim).
* **2026 (Spring):** A ruby tiara in Manhattan ($1.2 million claim).
In every single instance, an entry-level catering server or cleaning maid had been accused, pressured into signing non-disclosure waivers under threat of prosecution, and fired, allowing Evelyn to collect the full casualty insurance payouts while retaining the jewelry through offshore pawn networks in Zurich.
""Tess Nolan was supposed to be casualty number four,"" Sebastian said, his fists clenching on the desk.
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""Except tonight, she had you standing in the hallway,"" Agent Higgins said. ""This uncompressed 4K file is the smoking gun. We’ve already secured emergency search warrants for the Sterling residence in Providence.""
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