Daniel thought Noah was destroying a funeral. The mourners watched as the red-hooded young man raised a mallet.

By dawn, the raid on the docks had yielded over eighty gigabytes of encrypted communications, client lists, and video recordings documenting four years of covert operations conducted by the Meridian Council.

At the federal courthouse downtown, the grand jury sat in an emergency closed-door session.

Daniel Sterling was brought into the interrogation chamber in an orange correctional jumpsuit, his hands shackled to the heavy metal table. Sitting across from him were Detective Kane and the Assistant United States Attorney.

"Your partners in Zurich have already surrendered their banking manifests, Daniel," Kane said, dropping a thick stack of printed financial logs onto the table. "The mercenaries you hired at the docks identified you as the individual who authorized the arson and the procurement of the lethal compounds."

Daniel stared at the table, his arrogance completely stripped away. "They promised me the company would be worth five billion after the European launch. They said Claire was an obstacle to progress."

"Claire was the only person keeping your family’s name from being synonymous with mass murder," Kane replied coldly.

The door opened, and Claire stepped into the room. She was dressed in a sharp black suit, her head held high, looking down at her brother with an expression of quiet, profound finality.

"You sat in the front row of the chapel, Daniel," Claire said, her voice steady and clear. "You watched them lower the lid on my coffin and told our family friends that you would carry on my legacy."

"Claire... please," Daniel whispered, tears spilling down his pale face. "I didn't want to hurt you. They threatened to kill me if I didn't deliver the shares."