Chapter 10 - THE LEGAL NOOSE TIGHTENS
While I was conquering the business world on Thursday afternoon, federal investigators were busy dismantling Ivan’s personal life piece by piece.
Armed with the second flash drive David had provided—documenting Ivan’s attempted framing of my tax history—federal marshals executed a search warrant on Ivan’s temporary motel room downtown. They found burner phones, forged passport applications, and hard drives containing illegally transferred corporate assets meant for an unceremonious flight to the Cayman Islands.
Ivan was arrested mid-afternoon while trying to withdraw cash at a local bank branch. The footage of him being hauled out in handcuffs by federal agents instantly hit social media, trending globally under the mocking hashtag: #GrillAndGetArrested.
Cynthia, realizing her golden boy had lost everything and that her own name was tied to several suspicious real estate transfers, tried to flee the state. She was intercepted at the regional airport by local authorities, her designer luggage searched and confiscated right there in the terminal.
Marcus called me while I was reviewing architectural blueprints in my new executive office.
“Elena, you might want to turn on the news channel in your office,” Marcus chuckled over the line.
I picked up the remote, clicked on the local news broadcast, and watched with profound satisfaction as live footage showed Ivan—disheveled, handcuffed, and screaming obscenities at reporters—being shoved into the back of a police cruiser.
“He’s facing up to fifteen years for wire fraud, embezzlement, and conspiracy,” Marcus noted. “And his defense attorney just quit because Ivan couldn’t pay his retainer.”
“Karma is a very patient architect, Marcus,” I replied smoothly, sipping my green tea. “She always builds the strongest foundations.”
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Just then, my office door gently opened. David walked in carrying two cups of artisanal coffee and a small box of gourmet pastries from the bakery downstairs. He caught my eye, smiled, and quietly waited for me to finish my call.
The nightmare was finally over. The real life was just beginning.
