Chapter 10 - The Shattered Alibi
David Vance froze instantly, the phone dropping slightly from his hand as the glaring overhead light illuminated the kitchen. For a fraction of a second, genuine shock flickered across his sharp features. Then, his face hardened into a mask of cold, corporate fury.
“Julian,” David spat out, his eyes darting around the empty kitchen before locking onto Julian’s relaxed posture. “You always did enjoy playing the dramatic hero in other people’s tragedies. Where is the girl? And where are the probate documents?”
“Looking for these?” a deep voice echoed from the darkness of the living room doorway.
Marcus stepped into the light, his rifle held safely pointing toward the floor, but his posture radiating an absolute, lethal readiness. In his other hand, he held the original parchment addendum and the probate keys.
David’s eyes locked onto the papers in Marcus’s hand, a greedy hunger flashing in his pupils. “You have no legal right to hold those. That addendum was executed under fraudulent pretenses by a compromised estate agent.”
“Compromised by you,” Julian corrected sharply, stepping closer to David while two hidden security operatives hired by the estate stepped silently through the open side door behind David, blocking his only exit. “Our forensic audit of your holding accounts finished twenty minutes ago, David. We have the wire receipts showing your direct payments to Eleanor’s offshore account dating back eighteen months. You didn't just back her play—you orchestrated the theft of this property.”
David let out a harsh, barking laugh, though a bead of sweat now traced a slow path down his temple. “You have zero jurisdiction here! This is private county land, and without a federal magistrate’s signature on an arrest warrant, you’re holding me against my will—which is kidnapping!”
“I don't need a federal magistrate to perform a citizen’s arrest on a trespassing felon,” Marcus said, taking two steady steps toward his uncle. “And I certainly don't need a warrant to throw trash off my porch.”
Before David could lunge toward the door, Julian raised a hand, stopping Marcus with a single gesture.
“Save your energy, Marcus,” Julian advised calmly. He pulled his own phone from his pocket, holding up the screen so David could see the active video call running on it. “Take a look at who just connected to our secure line, David.”
David squinted at the phone screen.
Appearing on the display was Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Thorne, sitting in a federal courtroom office with a stern, unforgiving expression.
“Mr. David Vance,” the federal prosecutor’s voice boomed clearly through the phone’s speaker. “You are currently patched into a live recording feed monitored by the Southern District Grand Jury. An emergency federal bench warrant has just been issued for your arrest under charges of interstate racketeering, conspiracy to commit financial fraud, and extortion.”
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David’s face turned the color of ash. He stared at the phone in horror, realizing that the trap had been fully sprung—and he had walked straight into the center of it.
Julian smiled warmly, stepping right up to David’s paralyzed form. “Welcome to the family reunion, David. Pack a bag—federal orange will be your color for a very long time.”
