Chapter 51 - The Final Gambit
Arthur Vance froze, his eyes widening in sudden panic as the wail of police cruisers grew louder, bouncing off the concrete warehouses along the pier.
“What is that?” Vance demanded, looking around wildly. “I didn't call the department—this wasn't supposed to be an arrest!”
“It’s not an arrest, Vance,” Damien said smoothly, turning his back on the prosecutor as a black SUV slid silently to a halt near the entrance of the pier, its headlights cutting through the fog.
The door of the SUV opened, and Marcus—acting on Damien’s direct, preemptive orders—stepped out, holding a thick manila envelope. He walked over, handing the file to Damien without a word before retreating back to the vehicle.
Damien opened the envelope, pulled out a single sheet of paper, and tossed it onto the wooden planks right at Vance’s feet.
Vance looked down, his breath catching in his throat as his eyes scanned the text. It was an internal federal ethics complaint detailing a systematic campaign of harassment, fabricated evidence, and unauthorized wiretapping—all signed, sealed, and ready to be filed by the Department of Justice’s internal affairs division first thing in the morning.
“You... you investigated me?” Vance whispered, his face turning completely pale.
“In my line of work, Counselor, you never walk into a meeting without knowing every secret the other man is hiding,” Damien said, his voice dropping into a quiet, lethal register. “You wanted a war, Arthur. You wanted to drag my family back into the dark. But if you file a single unverified claim against my foundation or my name tomorrow morning, this ethics violation goes straight to the Attorney General, and your career in federal prosecution is over before breakfast.”
Vance stared at the paper on the ground, the reality of his defeat crashing down upon him with crushing weight. He had thought he was hunting a monster, but he had walked straight into a trap set by a man who was already ten steps ahead.
May you like
“What do you want?” Vance choked out, his arrogance completely shattered.
“I want you to close my file,” Damien said simply, turning to walk back toward his car. “And I want you to go back to your office, look at real criminals, and let the ghosts rest.”
