Chapter 8 - The Empire Crumbles.
The very next morning, the financial world woke up to the most explosive scandal Wall Street had seen in over a decade.
Every major news network was aggressively broadcasting breaking alerts, completely dominating the television screens in every office and coffee shop in the country.
Clara and Thomas sat comfortably on the leather sofa in the Montana cabin, drinking fresh coffee and watching the glorious chaos unfold live on CNN.
Richard Sterling, the untouchable prodigy of the financial sector, was suddenly the prime target of a massive, coordinated FBI and SEC investigation.
The anonymous leak had included irrefutable proof of insider trading, massive corporate tax evasion, and blatant embezzlement from his wealthiest billionaire clients.
The stock of his elite hedge fund plummeted by eighty percent in the first hour of trading, effectively wiping out billions of dollars in client wealth.
Live helicopter footage showed dozens of heavily armed federal agents raiding his Manhattan office building, carrying out boxes of physical files and seizing every computer server.
Clara watched a reporter standing outside the Greenwich estate, stating that Richard Sterling was nowhere to be found and was officially considered a flight risk.
He has nothing left, Clara whispered, feeling a massive, crushing weight finally lift off her chest as the world finally saw him for the criminal he truly was.
His clients will want him dead for losing their money, the feds want him in a concrete cell, and his reputation is permanently destroyed, Thomas added with immense satisfaction.
Suddenly, Clara's secure burner phone buzzed loudly on the coffee table, displaying an incoming call from an unknown, heavily encrypted number.
Thomas nodded at her to answer it, immediately pressing a button on his console to trace the origin of the signal in real-time.
Clara took a deep breath, putting the phone on speaker and answering with a steady, confident voice that did not shake even a fraction of an inch.
You ruined my entire life, you ungrateful little tramp! Richard screamed through the speaker, his voice cracking with absolute, unhinged hysteria.
I gave you a mansion, I gave you luxury, and you destroy me because of one little disciplinary argument?
Clara felt absolutely no fear listening to his pathetic, desperate rage, realizing that the monster who had haunted her nightmares was just a weak, broken man.
You didn't give me a life, Richard, you gave me a prison, and I just burned it completely to the ground, Clara replied in a voice as cold as absolute zero.
I am leaving the country tonight on a private jet, and I swear to God I will spend the rest of my life hunting you down, Richard threatened wildly.
Before Clara could respond, Thomas leaned over the phone, his deep, terrifying voice echoing through the small speaker.
May you like
You aren't going anywhere, Richard, because you just booked a flight out of Teterboro airport, and the authorities already have your tail number, Thomas stated calmly.
Richard gasped loudly, the line immediately going dead as he realized he had been completely outplayed on every single level.
