Chapter 7 - The Trap Clears
The battle for the Thorne estate lasted less than twenty minutes. Victor Rossi had severely underestimated the depth of Marcus’s private security force. The men guarding the estate weren't low-level security guards; they were elite former operatives who had been paid millions to ensure the safety of the city’s most powerful family.
By the time the storm began to pass, the three black SUVs were surrounded by twelve armored vehicles belonging to the federal tactical response team, which Thomas Vance had personally routed to the estate using his high-level political connections.
Marcus walked out of the front entrance of his mansion, his weapon safely concealed beneath his jacket. The grand foyer was ruined, the crystal chandelier shivered by bullet strikes, the marble floor covered in plaster dust and broken glass.
Standing in the center of the driveway, surrounded by federal agents with their weapons raised, was Victor Rossi. The sixty-five-year-old billionaire looked completely broken, his expensive cashmere overcoat soaked with rain, his hands tied behind his back with heavy plastic zip-ties.
"Thorne!" Victor roared as Marcus approached, his voice cracking with an old man's desperate fury. "You think you can destroy my family? You think you can put my daughter in a cell with common criminals? I built this city’s infrastructure! I will tear your company apart from the inside out!"
Marcus stopped just three feet away from Victor, looking down at him with a cold, absolute indifference that was far more painful than any physical blow.
"You didn't build anything, Victor," Marcus said quietly. "You stole it. And tonight, you just signed the paperwork for your own execution. The federal agents aren't just here for the break-in at my estate. While your men were busy trying to force my gate, Thomas Vance was delivering the complete financial ledgers of the Rossi port authority to the Department of Justice."
Victor’s eyes widened, the rage instantly replaced by a deep, hollow realization of defeat. "The... the port ledgers? How did you get those? Those are encrypted on a closed network in Milan!"
"Julian Vance was very talkative once the federal prosecutors explained the penalty for accessory to murder," Marcus said smoothly. "He gave us the decryption keys twenty-four hours ago. Your shipping lanes were used to move unregistered synthetic components across the Atlantic for a decade, Victor. You aren't just going to prison for tonight. You’re going to prison for the rest of your natural life."
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Marcus turned away, walking back toward the warmth of his home without looking back at the old man who was now being shoved into the rear of a federal transport vehicle.
"Clean up the yard, Vance," Marcus ordered his security director. "And get a contractor up here by morning to fix the foyer. My wife doesn't like the smell of gunpowder."
