Chapter 6 - The Conspirator's GambitWhile Victor crumbled under federal interrogation, Laura’s brother, Richard Sterling, was making a desperate attempt to flee the country.
At four-thirty in the morning, a sleek black town car pulled into the private aviation hangar at the regional airport ten miles outside the city. Richard, a sharp-featured man in his late fifties wearing an expensive trench coat, stepped out carrying two leather duffel bags stuffed with untraceable bearer bonds and foreign currency.
He walked quickly toward a small Gulfstream jet sitting on the tarmac with its engines idling.
“Is the flight plan cleared for Zurich?” Richard demanded, shouting over the whine of the jet engines as he approached the boarding stairs.
The pilot didn't answer. Instead, the cabin door opened, and Marcus stepped out onto the boarding ramp, dressed in a sharp black suit with his hands folded casually in front of him.
“Flight’s canceled, Mr. Sterling,” Marcus said smoothly.
Richard froze, dropping one of his duffel bags onto the wet tarmac. He reached into his coat pocket, but before his hand could touch his firearm, two Vanguard tactical vehicles surged around the corner of the hangar, their high-intensity searchlights blinding him instantly.
Four heavily armed Vanguard operators hit the ground, their weapons trained squarely on Richard’s chest.
“Drop the bag and get on your knees!” Marcus commanded, stepping down the stairs.
Richard stumbled backward, his face twisted in rage and terror. “You can’t do this! I am a senior partner at Apex Capital! You have no legal authority to detain me!”
I stepped out from behind the lead tactical vehicle, walking slowly through the glare of the searchlights until I stood five feet away from my ex-brother-in-law.
“You always were the stupid one in the family, Richard,” I said, looking down at him. “Ten years ago, when your father left Emily the trust, you tried to contest the will. When that failed, you waited until Victor came along with his financial troubles.”
Richard spat on the ground. “That money belonged to the family! My father was senile when he wrote that trust! He gave seventy million dollars to a twenty-year-old girl while my firm was struggling for capital!”
“Your firm was struggling because you were stealing from your investors to pay for your gambling debts in Macau,” I countered coldly. “We traced the four million dollars you siphoned from Apex last month. You were using Emily’s trust as collateral to cover your embezzlement before the annual audit next week.”
Richard fell to his knees on the wet tarmac, his expensive trench coat soaking up the oily rainwater. “Daniel... please. We’re family. Laura made a mistake, I made a mistake... we can settle this quietly! I can transfer my shares in Apex to Emily!”
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“You don't have any shares left to transfer, Richard,” I said. “The federal government seized Apex Capital thirty minutes ago. You’re done.”
Marcus stepped forward, pulled Richard’s arms behind his back, and snapped heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists just as state police cruisers swept into the airport perimeter with their lights flashing.
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