Chapter 13 - The Federal Leak
Agent Sarah Vance stood up slowly, her hands raised slightly away from her holster, though the look in her eyes was far more calculating than panicked. She was younger than Arthur Pendelton, sharp-featured, with iron-gray eyes that suggested she hadn't slept in three days.
"Maeve Kessler," Sarah said, her voice steady despite the heavily armed security team surrounding her. "Or should I say, the new security chief for a criminal empire. I have to admit, your rise through the ranks has been spectacular. From scrubbing floors to running the Vale syndicate's perimeter defense in less than a year."
Maeve didn't lower her crowbar. She walked slowly into the vault, her eyes fixed on the open safety deposit box and the leather briefcase overflowing with documents. "Skip the career commentary, Agent Vance. You're standing in a private depository at one in the morning, stealing files belonging to a man who happens to be my employer. That’s not federal business. That's corporate espionage."
"It's an ongoing federal investigation," Sarah countered, stepping away from the shelf. "Arthur Pendelton was just a symptom. The Vale syndicate has been laundering funds through dummy corporations across three states for a decade. These files prove it. And if I take them back to the bureau, your little empire collapses before breakfast."
"If you take those files anywhere," a cold, smooth voice echoed from the shadows of the corridor, "you won't make it two blocks past this alley."
Adrian stepped into the vault room. He looked immaculate, his dark overcoat unbuttoned, his expression entirely devoid of warmth. He walked past Maeve, stopping just an arm's length from the federal agent.
Sarah’s jaw tightened. "Vale. I was wondering when the head serpent would crawl out of his penthouse."
"I don't crawl, Agent," Adrian replied quietly. "I own the ground you're standing on. Including this building. Did you really think a mid-level federal investigator could access a high-security vault without my property managers knowing about it?"
Sarah’s eyes flicked toward Marcus, then back to Adrian. A grim smile touched her lips. "So you knew I was coming. You set a trap."
"Not a trap," Maeve corrected, stepping closer and tapping her steel crowbar lightly against her palm. "An invitation. We wanted to know who was feeding Arthur Pendelton federal intel on our ledger entries. Turns out, the mole wasn't inside our house at all. It was wearing a government badge."
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Sarah didn't flinch. Instead, she reached slowly into her coat pocket—not for a weapon, but for a small, encrypted flash drive. She tossed it onto the steel desk between them.
"You think you've won because you caught me in a vault, Vale? Open that drive. It's not just financial data. It's a list of every high-ranking official in the Justice Department who has been taking bribes from the Saint Louis syndicate to look the other way while they prepare a hostile takeover of Chicago. If I go down, that list goes public to every independent news outlet in the country. And trust me, a media circus will hurt your new empire a lot faster than federal prison."
