Chapter 22
The morning of the congressional hearing was a chaotic blur of flashing cameras, aggressive reporters, and heavy security details. Despite the hearing being officially closed to the public, the political and financial implications of the Langford scandal had completely consumed the Capitol. Everett walked into the massive, wood-paneled committee room flanked by Sloane Avery and Director Miller, completely ignoring the frantic shouts of the press corps waiting in the hallways.
He took his seat at the witness table, adjusting the microphone in front of him. Across the room, a panel of twelve senators stared down at him. Everett knew, based on the decrypted ledgers, that at least two of the men sitting on that very panel had secretly received massive campaign contributions from the syndicate's dark money accounts. The tension in the room was suffocating.
The chairman of the committee, a stern man with white hair, slammed his gavel. "This hearing will come to order. Mr. Langford, you are making incredibly severe allegations against major global financial institutions and prominent political figures. Are you prepared to testify under oath?"
"I am," Everett stated, his voice calm, clear, and completely unwavering.
For the next four hours, Everett endured a brutal, relentless cross-examination. The senators who were secretly on the syndicate's payroll attempted to aggressively tear apart his credibility. They questioned his mental stability, cited the fabricated news articles, and demanded impossible, minute details about his grandmother's death, desperately trying to catch him in a lie.
"Mr. Langford," a hostile senator sneered from the panel, leaning forward aggressively. "Isn't it completely true that you fabricated this entire, elaborate conspiracy simply because Richard Vance refused to release the trust funds to cover your failing personal business ventures?"
"That is a complete lie," Everett replied fiercely, leaning into the microphone. "Richard Vance murdered my grandmother because she wanted to stop funding international terrorism. And your aggressive attempts to discredit me, Senator, only prove how desperate you are to keep your own name off the public ledger."
The room erupted into shocked, angry murmurs. The senator’s face turned bright red with fury.
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Sloane Avery stood up, opening her briefcase. "Mr. Chairman," she said loudly, silencing the room. "We are entirely done playing defense against compromised politicians. Thirty seconds ago, I authorized the FBI to release the unredacted financial ledgers simultaneously to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Interpol. The entire world now knows exactly where the blood money went."
The hostile senator stared at Sloane in absolute, pale terror. The trap had just been sprung.
