Chapter 15
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The financial stranglehold on Bennett Enterprise Holdings was executed with surgical precision. Emily drafted a series of federal asset freezes, legally justified by the Apex Zenith connection, and Marcus Vance pushed them through the judicial review board in record time.
By Wednesday morning, Arthur Bennett’s empire was bleeding.
Emily sat in the FBI command center alongside Agent Carter, monitoring the live wiretaps and financial triggers they had placed on Arthur’s remaining accounts. The room was dark, illuminated only by massive digital maps and banking interfaces.
"His primary construction accounts are bouncing checks," Carter noted, listening to his earpiece. "The union bosses are threatening to walk off the high-rise site by noon if payroll isn't met."
"Hold the freeze," Emily commanded, staring intensely at the screen. "He has an emergency slush fund. I know he does. He used to brag about it when I was a teenager. He called it the 'Doomsday Vault'."
"We haven't found any hidden domestic accounts," Carter said skeptically.
"It's not domestic," Emily replied, her fingers flying across her keyboard. "Search for shell companies registered in the Isle of Man, specifically referencing the name 'Catherine'."
Carter frowned. "Who is Catherine?"
"My mother," Emily said, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "She died when I was young. He always used her name as a password for things he wanted to keep completely isolated."
Carter typed the parameters into the federal database. The system hummed for thirty agonizing seconds before a red alert flashed across the massive screen.
"Bingo," Carter breathed in awe. "Catherine Holdings LLC. Registered in the Isle of Man. Holding exactly forty million dollars in liquid capital."
"He just initiated a transfer," Emily said, pointing to a spiking line graph on her monitor. "He's moving ten million to cover the union payroll."
"We got him," Carter smiled, reaching for his radio to dispatch the arrest teams.
"No, wait!" Emily shouted, grabbing his arm. "Look at the routing protocol."
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Carter paused, looking closer at the screen. The ten million dollars wasn't going to the union accounts. It was being routed through a dark web cryptocurrency exchange.
"He's not paying the workers," Emily realized, absolute horror dawning on her face. "He's paying a team of fixers. He's trying to flee the country."
