Chương 6 - The Federal Ghost
The word "disqualified" hung in the quiet library like a judge's sentence.
Charlotte stared at the piece of paper Arthur Hawthorne had handed her.
It wasn't a formal legal document, just a printed summary of Vale's allegations, but the damage was absolute.
"Arthur, you cannot base a billion-dollar decision on the unverified claims of a rogue board member," Charlotte argued, her voice tight but controlled.
"Richard Vale is attempting a hostile takeover of my firm, and he is using you to do it."
Arthur shook his head sadly.
"Charlotte, I knew your grandfather."
"I respected your father."
"But the Foundation cannot risk the public scandal of awarding this contract to a firm under FBI investigation."
"Vale provided us with an audio recording of your brother, a convicted felon, illegally hacking into your own servers to fabricate evidence against a junior employee."
My blood ran cold.
Vale hadn't just destroyed the flash drive in his coffee cup.
He had somehow recorded Julian's hack while we were in the basement.
He was using our own desperate attempt to find the truth as the weapon to destroy us.
"We have nothing further to discuss," Arthur said, turning his back on us.
"Please see yourselves out."
We walked out of the historic mansion, the heavy wooden doors closing behind us with a resonant thud.
The freezing night air felt like a physical blow.
We climbed silently into the back of the waiting sedan.
The drive back to the city was suffocating.
We had lost the Hawthorne bid.
We had lost the firm.
And now, Julian was likely facing a return to federal prison.
"How did Vale record Julian?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.
Charlotte was staring out the window, her face pale and exhausted.
"He didn't record him," she said quietly.
"He was watching him."
"Julian's ankle monitor isn't just a GPS tracker."
"It's a federal surveillance device."
"Vale must have used his connections to access the live feed."
"He watched Julian bypass the firewall, recorded the screen, and spun it to look like Julian was planting the evidence instead of finding it."
I leaned my head against the cold leather seat, feeling utterly defeated.
"So it's over."
"Vale wins."
Charlotte slowly turned her head to look at me.
Her eyes were no longer burning with fire; they were cold, calculating, and terrifyingly calm.
"No," she said softly.
"It's not over."
"If Vale wants to play federal games, we will play federal games."
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
"Who are you calling?" I asked.
"The only person Richard Vale is actually afraid of."
The line connected.
"Hello, Director," Charlotte said smoothly.
"I need to cash in that favor you owe my father."
A long pause.
"Yes, it involves Richard Vale."
May you like
Another pause.
"I need you to arrest me."
