Part 19
Victoria Brooks didn't panic.
She looked at the terminal screen, then at the open door where the security guards stood.
She let out a soft sigh, reached into her expensive leather purse, and pulled out a small silver flash drive.
She clicked it out of the terminal.
"The FBI can investigate all they want, Eleanor," she said, standing up.
"By the time they build a case that can stick in a federal court, I will be long gone."
"And this bank? This bank will settle out of court to avoid a public scandal."
She walked around the desk, her heels clicking softly on the tile floor.
She stood inches from me.
She smelled of lavender and old paper.
"We used to be friends, Eleanor," she murmured.
"Your husband and mine... they changed this city."
"But they left us with nothing."
"Your husband died and left you an old house with a massive tax liability."
"My husband died and left me with debts."
"I did what I had to do to survive."
"You stole from a young man who trusted your daughter," I said, my voice steady.
"You almost destroyed my son."
"That isn't survival, Victoria. That is malice."
"It's business," she corrected coldly.
She looked at Derek.
"He'll recover."
"He's young."
She started to walk past me toward the exit.
The security guards looked at Julian Vance, waiting for an order.
Julian hesitated. He looked terrified of his family name being dragged through the mud.
"Let her go," I said.
Derek looked at me, shocked. "Mom! What are you saying?"
"Let her walk out of the vault, Derek," I repeated.
Victoria gave me a smug, victorious smile.
"Smart move, Eleanor."
She stepped through the vault door and began walking up the concrete stairs.
Derek grabbed my arm. "Mom, she has the flash drive! She's getting away with everything!"
"No, she isn't," I said.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
"Julian, what is the exact protocol when a safe deposit vault terminal detects an unauthorized data extraction?"
Julian blinked, then his eyes went wide.
"The automatic lockdown," he whispered.
"Exactly," I said.
I pressed a button on my phone.
An alarm began to blare throughout the basement.
A high-pitched, deafening shriek.
At the top of the stairs, a heavy, solid steel security gate slammed down with a thunderous CRASH.
Victoria stopped.
She turned around, her face finally losing its composure.
Through the metal bars of the gate above, we could hear the heavy boots of federal agents entering the building.
"The flash drive she's holding contains an automated tracking script," I explained to Julian.
"The moment she pulled it out without entering the administrator override code..."
"...it triggered the bank's internal theft protocol."
I walked to the foot of the stairs, looking up at her.
"You said you protect your investments, Victoria."
"But you forgot one thing."
"I protect my son."
"And I never let a thief leave my house twice."
The federal agents poured down the stairs on the other side of the gate.
Within seconds, Victoria Brooks was pushed against the concrete wall, her hands secured in plastic zip-ties.
The silver flash drive fell from her fingers, bouncing down the stairs until it landed right at my feet.
I picked it up.
May you like
It felt light.
But it held the weight of our entire future.
