Chapter 9 - The Final Thread
Vincent pushed Hannah behind him and prepared for another fight.
He expected to see Marcus crawling out of the flames or Romano hitmen arriving.
Instead the head of the FBI's organized crime division stepped into the alley.
Agent Thomas Vance held his badge up in the dim street light.
He was flanked by twenty heavily armed federal tactical agents.
Vance looked at the burning hotel and then at the bleeding mafia boss.
He casually announced that Marcus Bell had flipped and sent the FBI a hard drive.
The drive contained a decade of evidence against both the Caruso and Romano families.
Marcus had planned to let the FBI arrest Vincent while he took over the remaining territory.
Vincent realized the depth of his friend's ultimate betrayal.
Agent Vance pulled a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
He told Vincent he was under arrest for racketeering and multiple counts of conspiracy.
Vincent did not resist or argue with the federal agent.
He slowly raised his hands and allowed them to cuff him.
Hannah screamed and tried to push past the tactical team.
Vincent looked back at her with a completely calm and reassuring smile.
He told her to call the best corporate lawyer in Chicago.
He told her to trust him because the war was officially over.
The agents placed Vincent in the back of a heavily armored transport van.
He spent the next six months sitting in a high-security federal holding cell.
He refused to accept a plea deal and demanded a public trial.
During that time Hannah took complete control of the Caruso Foundation.
She fired the entire corrupt board of directors without a single ounce of fear.
She used her own brilliant mind to uncover a massive flaw in the FBI's case.
The hard drive Marcus had provided was heavily encrypted with foundation passwords.
Hannah proved in federal court that Laurel Whitman had forged the digital signatures.
She testified that the foundation had actually been completely legitimate under Vincent's leadership.
The jury was captivated by the elegant seamstress who stood fiercely by her husband.
She did not look like a weakness or a victim.
She looked like an absolute queen protecting her empire.
The judge threw out the tampered evidence and acquitted Vincent of all major charges.
Vincent was finally released on a warm Tuesday afternoon in early June.
He walked out of the federal courthouse wearing a perfectly tailored suit.
He scanned the massive crowd of reporters waiting on the front steps.
The crowd parted perfectly down the middle.
May you like
Hannah stood at the bottom of the marble stairs waiting for him.
And Vincent finally saw what she was wearing.
