Chapter 16 - The walk of defiance
The steps of the Dirkson Federal Building were swarming with over three hundred journalists, camera crews, and heavily armed federal agents when three black SUVs pulled up to the curb. Flashbulbs exploded like a thunderstorm against the gray Chicago afternoon.
The rear door opened, and Clara stepped out first.
She wore a sharp, midnight-black tailored suit that screamed untouchable power. Her hair was swept back, her posture flawless, her expression icy and serene. Behind her, Roman stepped out, towering and lethal in a dark charcoal overcoat, flanked by Arthur Bennett, who walked tall and steady beside his daughter.
State marshals immediately drew their weapons, surrounding the trio on the marble steps. "Arthur Bennett! You are under arrest for federal financial treason! Step away from the vehicle!"
The lead agent pushed forward with handcuffs, but Clara stepped directly into his path, blocking him with an envelope of certified federal documents.
"Back down, Agent Miller," Clara’s voice rang clear across the microphones of twenty major news networks. "Before you place a single hand on my father, I suggest you look at page four of the document in my hand. It is an emergency injunction signed one hour ago by the Chief Justice of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals."
The agent froze, his hand hovering over his sidearm. "What are you talking about?"
"This document reveals that the account used to frame Arthur Bennett is co-signed by State Attorney General Donald Hayes," Clara declared, turning directly toward the television cameras. "The funds originated from Vance Maritime Logistics—an illegal front operating out of the southern docks. My father didn't embezzle forty million dollars. He caught the Attorney General stealing it."
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Murmurs of shock rippled through the press corps. Cameras whipped around to broadcast Clara's face across the entire country.
High above the plaza, on the seventeenth floor of an unfinished skyscraper across the street, a red laser sight blinked to life, zeroing in directly on the center of Clara's forehead.
