Chapter 42 - The Judas in the Shadows
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The gunshot echoed loudly, hitting a metal beam high above my head with a sharp PING.
Before Arthur could aim again, two SWAT officers tackled him to the concrete floor, disarming him instantly and pinning his arms behind his back.
Chief Higgins ran up to me, pulling me back out of the line of fire. "Are you hit, Sarah?!"
"I'm fine!" I panted, my heart pounding against my ribs. "I'm fine!"
Arthur was dragged to his feet, bleeding from a scrape on his forehead, coughing from the tear gas. He glared at me with absolute, unfiltered malice as he was hauled toward the police van.
"It's over, Arthur," I called out as he passed me.
Arthur stopped, looking at me with a sickening smile despite his handcuffs.
"You think I worked alone, Sarah?" Arthur whispered, spitting blood onto the concrete. "You think a small-town girl and a washed-up lawyer uncovered my network on their own?"
I frowned, a cold feeling settling in my stomach. "What are you talking about?"
"Check your lawyer's office," Arthur chuckled darkly as the guards shoved him inside the van. "Someone inside your circle has been taking my payroll for five years."
The van doors slammed shut, driving away into the night.
Thirty minutes later, I returned to Mr. Pendelton’s law firm alongside Chief Higgins and Clara Mercer.
"He's trying to mess with your head, Sarah," Clara insisted as we walked up the carpeted hallway toward the executive suites. "It's a classic psychological distraction tactic."
"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe he was telling the truth."
We walked into Clara's private office. Sitting at the corner desk was Clara's chief legal assistant, a young man named Julian who had been handling all of our confidential filings for the past week.
Julian jumped up from his desk, looking panicked when he saw Chief Higgins in full tactical gear behind us.
"Is... is everything okay?" Julian stammered, shuffling a stack of papers into his drawer.
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Chief Higgins walked straight to Julian’s desk, placing his heavy gloved hand on the drawer handle.
"Step away from the desk, son," Higgins commanded smoothly.
