Chapter 9 - The Dawn Raid
The predawn hours of Thursday morning arrived with the dull, rumbling roar of heavy diesel engines idling at the perimeter of the Hale estate.
I stood by the second-floor window of my master suite, looking down through the blinds at the driveway below. Three black-and-white cruiser cars, accompanied by two unmarked federal SUVs, had blocked the iron security gates. Federal marshals in tactical gear were fanning out across the lawn, weapons drawn, while local precinct cops secured the perimeter.
The subpoena had become an arrest warrant overnight.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up immediately.
“Boss,” Marcus’s voice crackled through the encrypted line from the detached security gatehouse. “The marshals are at the front door with a federal magistrate’s warrant. They’re demanding entry to execute a full asset seizure and take you into custody for racketeering and corporate fraud.”
“Let them in, Marcus,” I said, my voice dead calm. “Don't fire a shot. Cooperate fully.”
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“Boss, are you crazy? They’ll lock you up before you can even—"
“Let them walk through the front door,” I interrupted, a dark, dangerous smile touching the corners of my mouth. “Because when they open my office safe to seize the ledgers, they aren't going to find my records. They’re going to find the Salvatore family’s original signed confession papers that I had Marcus pull from their offshore server an hour ago.”
