I looked directly into Derek’s eyes, the terrified victim vanishing, replaced by the apex predator. “I said, I wouldn’t bother filing those. The ink is about to expire.”
Just as the words left my mouth, the heavy, rhythmic, terrifying pounding of fists struck the solid oak of my front door.
Chapter 4: The Execution
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The sound reverberated through the Hollywood Hills estate like a battering ram.
“What is that?” Evelyn shrieked, clutching the fraudulent documents tightly to her chest, her eyes darting frantically toward the foyer.
The front door didn’t just open; it was forced wide by a tidal wave of uncompromising federal authority. Marcus Vance marched into the dining room, his expensive suit pristine, his face an unreadable mask of legal fury. He was flanked by six heavily armed FBI agents in navy blue tactical windbreakers, backed up by four uniformed local police officers securing the perimeter.