CHAPTER 10: UNMASKED ON LIVE TELEVISION
CHAPTER 10: UNMASKED ON LIVE TELEVISION
Evelyn flipped a switch on the back of the glowing case.
Instantly, every smartphone carried by Victoria’s bodyguards began buzzing violently with emergency alerts. High-frequency pings rang out simultaneously across the pier.
"What is that?" Victoria demanded, pulling her own encrypted mobile device from her coat pocket.
The screen of her phone was overridden by a high-definition video stream. Across the nation—on every television station, every streaming platform, every digital billboard in Times Square, and every mobile device connected to the network—a live broadcast was taking place.
On the screen appeared Liam, standing inside the master control room of the Central Broadcast Hub, backed by federal regulatory officers and independent journalists.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Liam’s voice echoed loudly from the phone speakers across the pier. "What you are watching right now is an unedited, live transmission documenting the criminal syndicate operated by Victoria Sterling, CEO of Sterling Enterprises."
The stream instantly cut to high-resolution forensic documents, bank ledgers, signed wire-transfer orders, and clear video evidence detailing Victoria’s illegal operations—including the original, unedited footage of her assaulting Evelyn at the gala and demanding the execution of Marcus Vance.
Victoria’s face drained of all color. "Shut it down! SHUT IT DOWN NOW!" she screamed frantically at her tech team.
"You can't shut it down, Victoria," Evelyn called out over the sound of the rain, stepping closer to the pier. "That case in my hand isn't containing the drive—it's a satellite signal repeater! The drive was decrypted twenty minutes ago from the city core! Over twelve million people are watching this exact pier right now live."
Victoria looked up at the sky in sheer panic. Above the thick layer of fog, the heavy thrum of multiple helicopter rotors began to echo. Bright searchlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the docklands in brilliant white light.
"THIS IS THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION!" a booming voice roared from a loudspeaker overhead. "VICTORIA STERLING, DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND STEP AWAY FROM THE HOSTAGE! THE BUILDING IS SURROUNDED!"
Victoria’s guards looked at each other in absolute terror. Recognizing that their employer’s wealth could no longer shield them from incoming federal prosecution, several mercenaries immediately dropped their rifles and raised their hands in surrender.
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"You useless fools! Pick up your weapons!" Victoria shrieked, her voice cracking in wild, unhinged desperation. She grabbed a sidearm from her head bodyguard’s holster and aimed it directly at Marcus’s head.
"If I go down, Marcus, you are coming with me!" she screamed, her finger tightening on the trigger.
