Chapter 6 - Unraveling the Golden Boy
The drive from my apartment to Mara's house felt like an eternity. My hands clutched the steering wheel so tightly they cramped. I kept praying that Cole hadn't caught her.
I parked a block away, slipping through the shadows of the manicured lawns. The house was dark, except for the glow of the kitchen light.
I crept up to the side door. It was unlocked. I slipped inside, holding my breath.
"Mara?" I whispered.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm from the darkness. I almost screamed, but a soft hand covered my mouth. It was Mara. She was trembling, holding a small silver USB drive in her hand.
"He's asleep," she whispered, her voice shaking. "He drank a whole bottle of scotch. I got the drive, but I had to put the safe back exactly how it was. I don't think he noticed."
"Good. Let's go, right now," I said, grabbing her hand.
"No, I can't leave tonight," Mara said, tears running down her cheeks. "If I vanish tonight, he’ll know immediately that I took the drive. He’ll call the police, report me missing, or accuse me of theft. I have to stay until the charity gala on Saturday. He’ll be surrounded by people, distracted. I can slip away during the event. It’s the safest way."
I hated the idea of leaving her in that house for three more days, but her logic was sound. If we fled now without the legal protection of the filed charges, Cole could use his connections to track us down.
"Okay," I said, taking the USB drive and hiding it in my pocket. "Three days, Mara. Stay away from him as much as possible. If he gets angry, lock yourself in the guest room. I’ll have everything ready by Saturday."
I kissed her cheek and slipped back out into the night.
The next morning, I delivered the USB drive to Detective Sarah Jenkins. Her forensic team spent twelve hours cracking the encryption.
When Sarah called me back to the station, her face was grim but triumphant.
"Nora, your sister just handed us the keys to the kingdom," Sarah said, pointing to a massive ledger on her screen. "It's all here. The exact account numbers, the bribe payments, and even recorded phone conversations Cole kept as blackmail material against the city council members. He was planning to extort them if they ever turned on him."
"Can we arrest him?" I asked eagerly.
"The federal prosecutor is drafting the warrants right now," Sarah said. "But we are going to execute them on Saturday night. At his own charity gala. In front of all his investors and partners. We’re going to dismantle him publicly so he can never rebuild his reputation."
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"And Mara?"
"We’ll have plainclothes officers at the gala," Sarah promised. "The moment the federal agents move in, we’ll secure Mara and get her to safety. Cole Vance is going down, Nora. Permanently."
