Chapter 32 - The Raid
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At six o'clock the following morning, the federal government struck.
Over one hundred FBI agents, postal inspectors, and IRS criminal investigators executed simultaneous search warrants across six states. The main target was the forty-story glass tower of Vance Global Headquarters in downtown Chicago.
I watched the live news coverage from the comfort of my home office, sitting in a comfortable leather armchair with a warm mug of chamomile tea in my hands.
The television screen showed federal agents carrying dozens of heavy cardboard boxes and server towers out through the grand marble lobby of Vance Global. News helicopters hovered overhead, their cameras zooming in as two uniformed federal marshals escorted Julian Vance out of the executive elevator.
He was wearing a dark navy suit, but his hands were cuffed behind his back. The arrogant smile he had worn at the gala was completely gone, replaced by a look of stunned, helpless fury as reporters shouted questions from behind the police barricades.
My phone chimed on the desk. It was a text message from Agent Lin:
We got everything. The secondary server in the basement matched your forensic map 100%. Vance is currently in holding.
May you like
I set my tea down and looked out the window. The sun was rising over Lake Michigan, painting the sky in brilliant hues of gold and deep pink.
The nightmare that had started in a dark, abusive bedroom six months ago had finally reached its absolute, undeniable conclusion. The men who had tried to crush me were now sitting in concrete cells, waiting for a system of justice they could no longer buy.
