Chapter 10 - The False Victory
A dozen heavily armed military police officers swarmed into the study, their tactical rifles aimed directly at Derek's paralyzed body.
They were not General Hale's corrupt assassins; they were loyal internal affairs investigators responding to the massive public broadcast.
"Colonel Derek Maddox, you are under arrest for high treason and conspiracy to commit murder," the lead investigator announced sternly.
The paralytic drug was finally beginning to wear off, allowing Derek to twitch his fingers as the officers roughly hauled him to his feet.
Heavy steel handcuffs were locked tightly around his wrists, biting painfully into his skin.
Eleanor handed the lead investigator the black flash drive containing the raw, unedited footage of the entire confession.
"General Hale has already been apprehended at the airfield trying to flee the country," the investigator informed Eleanor respectfully.
Derek was dragged aggressively out of the beautiful estate, a broken and utterly ruined man facing a lifetime in a federal supermax prison.
Eleanor stood quietly on her front porch, watching the convoy of flashing police cruisers disappear into the dark, rainy night.
She felt a profound, overwhelming sense of peace wash over her exhausted soul.
She had successfully dismantled the corrupt syndicate, avenged the honor of her fallen son, and secured the absolute integrity of the foundation.
She turned around, walked back into the quiet warmth of her empty mansion, and locked the heavy front door.
She poured herself a fresh cup of tea and walked over to the stone mantle to light a small candle beneath David's memorial portrait.
The immediate nightmare was completely over, and she finally allowed a genuine smile to grace her tired face.
Suddenly, the secure, encrypted satellite phone locked inside her desk drawer began to ring loudly.
She frowned, unlocking the drawer and answering the restricted international number.
"Mom, you really shouldn't have broadcast that confession," a familiar, static-filled voice echoed through the receiver.
Eleanor dropped her teacup, watching it shatter into a hundred pieces on the hardwood floor as she recognized her dead son's voice.
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"Derek Maddox was a monster, but he was the only man whose lies were keeping my cover intact," David said urgently.
"Now they know I am still alive, Mom, and they are coming for both of us."
