Chapter 17: The Arrests
6:00 AM, The Cole Estate, The Hamptons
The morning sun had barely crested over the ocean when the convoy arrived.
Not armored SUVs this time, but a dozen unmarked sedans, flanked by local police cruisers. The red and blue lights painted the manicured lawns of the Cole estate in a chaotic, inescapable glow.
Arthur Cole was sitting in his bathrobe in his opulent dining room, staring at the bottom of an empty scotch glass, trying to figure out how to salvage his frozen bank accounts.
He didn't even hear the battering ram hit his front door.
"FBI! Warrants!"
The shout echoed through the massive foyer. Dozens of heavily armed federal agents swarmed the house.
Arthur stood up, his chair clattering backward. "What is the meaning of this? I am Arthur Cole! Call my lawyers immediately!"
A senior FBI agent walked into the dining room, holding a thick folder. "Mr. Cole, your lawyers have already been notified. They declined to represent you."
Arthur's face went completely slack.
"Arthur Cole," the agent said, stepping forward with handcuffs, "you are under arrest for federal racketeering, corporate fraud, and conspiracy to commit the murder of Daniel Evans. You have the right to remain silent."
Upstairs, a shrill scream pierced the air.
Vanessa Cole was dragged out of her bedroom by two female agents. She was wearing silk pajamas, her hair in disarray, her face twisted in a mask of pure, ugly entitlement.
"Get your hands off me!" Vanessa shrieked, kicking wildly. "Do you know who I am? Call Alessandro! He’ll fix this! Tell him I forgive him! Just call him!"
The agent ignored her, locking the steel cuffs around her wrists. "Ma'am, Mr. Moretti is the one who provided the evidence. Let's go."
Half a mile away, parked discreetly on a coastal cliff overlooking the estate, Alessandro’s black SUV sat idling in the morning mist.
I sat in the passenger seat, a hot cup of coffee warming my hands. Alessandro sat in the driver’s seat, watching through the windshield as Arthur and Vanessa were perp-walked out of their mansion and shoved into the back of separate federal vehicles.
It was over.
The monsters who had killed Daniel, the people who had tried to ruin my life, were finally facing the light of day.
Alessandro reached across the center console and laced his fingers through mine.
"Justice," he murmured, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand.
May you like
"Justice," I agreed, a heavy weight finally lifting off my chest. I looked at the man beside me. "Thank you."
Alessandro shifted his gaze from the crumbling Cole dynasty to me, his eyes softening into a warm, infinite brown. "No more looking back, Clara. From today on, we only look forward."
