Chapter 7 - The Federal Agent
A blinding flash of light and a deafening boom swallowed the motel room.
I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears, falling to the floor.
I heard my mother scream and the sound of her weapon clattering against the cheap tile.
Strong hands grabbed my arms and hauled me up to my feet.
"Move, now!" a deep voice commanded.
I opened my eyes and saw a man in tactical gear dragging me toward the shattered bathroom window.
Mr. Vance was already climbing through the frame into the rainy alley.
I scrambled through the window, scraping my knee on the broken glass.
The man in the tactical gear threw a smoke canister back into the room before following us out.
"Who are you?" I coughed as we ran down the dark alleyway.
"Agent Miller, FBI Financial Crimes Division," he said, flashing a badge in the moonlight.
"Your grandmother contacted me six months ago."
He led us to a sleek, unmarked black sedan parked at the end of the street.
We climbed inside, and Miller immediately sped away, leaving the motel far behind.
"Ruth knew your father was laundering money, and she agreed to be our confidential informant," Miller explained as he drove.
"She compiled the ledger to help us dismantle the entire syndicate."
I leaned back against the seat, trying to process the magnitude of Grandma's bravery.
She wasn't just a sweet old woman; she was an absolute warrior.
"Why didn't you intervene sooner?" Mr. Vance asked the agent.
"We needed the physical ledger to secure the arrest warrants," Miller replied.
"And your mother just proved that she is a willing accomplice in the conspiracy."
Miller pulled the car into a secure federal parking facility in the center of the city.
"Once you hand over that book, Maya, your parents are going to federal prison."
I looked down at the leather-bound book in my lap.
I thought about Grandma dying alone in that hospital, waiting for a son who never cared.
"Good," I said without hesitation.
But as I handed the book to Agent Miller, my phone rang.
It was a video call from my father.
May you like
I answered it, and my heart stopped beating.
My father was standing in a dark basement, holding a gun to the head of my fiance, Liam.
