Chapter 10: The Federal Interruption
The heavy oak doors of the executive boardroom swung open with a resounding thud that echoed off the mahogany paneling. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a rumpled charcoal trench coat strode into the room, flanked by two federal agents in dark tactical windbreakers bearing bold yellow SEC lettering across the back.
Marcus Vance stepped into the center of the room, his eyes scanning the table before locking onto Beatrice with an expression of pure, unadulterated contempt.
"Don't touch that tablet, Julian," Marcus announced, his voice ringing out with federal authority.
Beatrice stood up so fast her chair screeched loudly against the polished hardwood floor. Her carefully constructed facade of serene composure finally fractured, revealing a flash of genuine panic in her piercing blue eyes.
"Who let you in here? This is a private corporate boardroom! Security, remove these men immediately!" Beatrice commanded, pointing a trembling finger at Marcus.
The two private security guards who had been standing beside Julian instinctively reached for their waistbands, but before they could draw their weapons, the SEC agents stepped forward, unholstering their badges and resting their hands firmly on their sidearms.
"Federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Nobody moves an inch," the lead federal agent stated, his voice booming across the room. He walked directly up to the table, pulled a thick sheaf of legal documents from his briefcase, and dropped them heavily onto the mahogany wood directly in front of Arthur Sterling.
"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur Sterling demanded, standing up and adjusting his glasses as he looked down at the federal seal stamped across the top of the paperwork.
"Mr. Sterling, you are looking at a federal warrant for corporate fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit industrial sabotage," Marcus explained, stepping up to the table and pulling the encrypted USB drive from his pocket, laying it beside the warrant. "This drive contains the unencrypted ledger logs downloaded from the sub-level vault less than two hours ago. It details a systematic scheme orchestrated by Ms. Beatrice Thorne to siphon forty-eight million dollars from Vance Global accounts through the Engent platform while framing my brother for the crime."
Beatrice’s face drained of all color. She gripped the edge of the mahogany table so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"It’s a forgery," Beatrice hissed, her voice losing its melodic cadence and dropping into a harsh, desperate whisper. "Julian manufactured those files out of paranoia. Look at him—he’s handcuffed! He’s unstable!"
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"He’s handcuffed because your private thugs put him in them thirty minutes ago in the parking garage," Marcus retorted coldly, turning to face her directly. "The federal marshals tracked your shell corporations to the Cayman Islands three hours ago. The accounts are already frozen."
The silence in the boardroom was absolute. Every eye turned away from Julian and landed squarely on Beatrice.
