Chapter 10 - The Masterpiece
The blinding police spotlights made it entirely impossible to see a way out of the trapped alleyway.
The corrupt police chief walked slowly toward us, a smug, victorious grin plastered across his face.
"Hand over the hard drive, and I might let the kid live," the chief offered maliciously.
Salvador stood tall, completely unfazed by the dozens of weapons pointed directly at us.
"You really think I would walk out of that vault without a backup plan?" Salvador asked calmly.
He pulled a small, black remote from his pocket and pressed a single red button.
Instantly, every single digital billboard in the downtown plaza above us hijacked its normal broadcast.
I looked up to see the decrypted files from the hard drive flashing massive on the city screens.
Bank records, assassination orders, and undeniable proof of the mayor and the chief's massive corruption were suddenly visible to millions.
The police officers in the alley looked at the screens, then turned their confused, angry eyes toward their corrupt chief.
Sirens wailed in the distance as federal FBI black SUVs aggressively smashed through the local police barricades.
The chief dropped his weapon in sheer panic, realizing his entire criminal empire had just been burned to the ground.
Federal agents swarmed the alley, arresting the chief and rushing into the gala to secure the tied-up mayor.
We were escorted to a safe location, completely cleared of any wrongdoing by the grateful federal authorities.
The massive syndicate billions were seized, but Salvador had cleverly siphoned enough untraceable funds to ensure we would never worry about money again.
My real grandfather hugged me tightly, finally free to be the family I had always wanted.
Everything was finally perfect.
I sat in my beautiful new apartment, watching the peaceful city lights shine through the window.
Then a mysterious black envelope slowly slid underneath my locked front door.
May you like
I opened it to find a massive check signed by my grandmother, who had supposedly died ten years ago.
A small note attached to the back simply read, "That was just the practice run, Daniel."
