Chapter 14 - The Final Broadcast
The flashing lights of news vans lined the outer perimeter of the Ashwood Manor estate gates, their satellite dishes pointed skyward like metallic sunflowers against the grey morning sky. Reporters and camera crews pressed against the yellow police tape, shouting questions into the damp air as federal agents maintained a perimeter.
Maya walked down the grand stone steps of the front porch, her dark hair blowing gently in the morning wind. She wore her purple knit sweater proudly, her head held high. Behind her walked Marcus and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Chen, flanked by two protective marshals.
As soon as the press corps spotted Maya stepping through the gates, a wall of camera flashes erupted, turning the grey morning into a blinding white glare. Dozens of microphones thrust forward across the police tape.
“Maya Vance! Is it true your father ran an illegal corporate conspiracy?” shouted a lead reporter from the front network affiliate. “Do you have proof of the offshore accounts?”
Maya stopped at the edge of the property line, right where Eleanor had shoved her out just days ago. She looked down at the silver hard drive in her hand for one final moment before lifting her gaze to meet the camera lenses head-on.
“My mother, Clara Vance, didn't build this home on secrets, and she certainly didn't die for them,” Maya spoke clearly, her voice projecting strongly across the microphones without a single tremor of fear. “For months, my father David Vance and his associates used Ashwood Manor as a front for illegal pharmaceutical trials and corporate money laundering. They thought they could bury the truth, silence the victims, and erase my mother's memory.”
A murmur rippled through the gathered press corps as the live broadcast fed out to millions of viewers across the nation.
“Right here on this drive,” Maya continued, holding up the silver device for every camera to see, “is every financial transfer, every medical report, and every name involved in this conspiracy—including members within the Department of Justice who tried to cover it up this morning.”
From the back of the press crowd, a sharp commotion erupted. A sleek black sedan pulled up abruptly behind the news vans, and two federal marshals in plain clothes stepped out, their badges gleaming as they pushed through the crowd toward Maya.
“Miss Vance! Hand over that drive under federal subpoena!” shouted one of the plainclothes agents, his hand reaching toward his jacket.
Sarah Chen stepped in front of Maya instantly, flashing her federal prosecutor badge with fierce authority. “Stand down! That subpoena was issued by Thomas Vance under a direct conflict of interest, and it has just been revoked by the Attorney General's office!”
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The plainclothes agent froze, his hand hovering near his belt as his phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He pulled it out, stared at the screen, and slowly lowered his arm as the live broadcast flashed across every mobile screen in the vicinity.
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