Chapter 10 - The Last Vow
I screamed and jumped in front of the agent's gun.
The agent yelled that James was a ghost, a dead man who didn't exist in any federal database.
He said he had orders to detain any undocumented operatives involved in this sting.
James calmly reached into his jacket pocket with his uninjured hand.
He pulled out a massive, heavily encrypted hard drive and held it out to the agent.
He explained that the drive contained fifty-six years of compiled evidence against Adrian and every corrupt official who helped him.
He told the agent that a copy of the drive was already sitting in the inbox of every major news outlet in the country.
The agent stared at the drive, realizing he could either be a hero or go down with Adrian's sinking ship.
Slowly, the agent lowered his weapon and accepted the hard drive.
He told James that he would ensure the pardon paperwork was pushed through to the highest level.
Adrian was thrown into the back of a heavily armored transport, screaming curses as the doors slammed shut.
My sister was found perfectly safe at a local diner, completely unaware of the threat against her.
Paramedics bandaged James's arm, and the federal agents drove us back to my quiet, suburban home.
The massive bouquet of yellow roses was still sitting on my kitchen table, filling the room with a sweet fragrance.
James and I sat on the back porch, watching the sun rise over the trees, holding hands in absolute peace.
The decades of waiting, the pain, and the secrets were finally washed away by the morning light.
We were officially husband and wife, safe and together for the rest of our days.
Later that afternoon, the mail carrier dropped off a thick, unmarked envelope on the porch.
I opened it and found a single, typed note inside.
May you like
The note read, "Adrian was just a middleman, Mary, and now you have our attention."
A chilling photograph fell out of the envelope, showing James and me sitting on the porch just ten minutes ago.
