Chương 10 - The False Victory
Thick, blinding white smoke instantly flooded the warehouse, plunging the standoff into total chaos.
A dozen men in full tactical FBI gear repelled through the shattered skylights, firing non-lethal suppression rounds into the mercenaries.
Meline did not hesitate in the confusion; she dropped to the floor and sprinted toward the exit where David and her mother were waiting.
The FBI agents overwhelmed Tariq’s men in seconds, tackling the notorious arms dealer to the ground and slapping heavy iron cuffs on his wrists.
Meline burst through the warehouse doors and saw several marked federal cruisers blocking the pier's exit.
An older FBI director, whom Meline recognized from her time in intelligence, stepped out of a vehicle and offered her a grim nod.
They had intercepted her cloud server upload and traced her location just in time.
Within hours, the news networks were blaring with breaking reports of Preston Caldwell’s arrest for massive corporate fraud and treason.
The SEC had successfully frozen his assets, and the Dubai workers' pensions were entirely secured.
Meline sat in a quiet, heavily guarded VIP room at Mount Sinai Hospital, watching her mother finally receive the proper medical treatments she needed.
She let out a long, shuddering breath, feeling the crushing weight of the last three years finally lift from her shoulders.
She had won.
She defeated Preston, captured Tariq, and saved her mother's life.
A soft knock on the hospital room door made Meline turn around with a tired, genuine smile.
The door opened, and Gideon Hayes walked into the room, wearing an impeccably tailored suit and holding a bouquet of white lilies.
He did not look like a man whose company had just been raided by the federal government; he looked like a man who had just conquered the world.
"You played your part perfectly, Meline," Gideon whispered, his voice completely devoid of the panic he had shown in the parking garage.
Gideon smiled a chilling, lifeless smile as he casually locked the hospital door behind him.
May you like
He calmly explained that he had used her to eliminate Preston and Tariq simultaneously, clearing the path for him to take over the entire criminal syndicate without getting his own hands dirty.
"By the way," Gideon added softly, pulling a detonator switch from his tailored pocket. "I was the one who paid Tariq to plant that bomb in Beirut three years ago, just to make sure you would eventually be desperate enough to help me today."
