Chapter 11 - The Clearing Floor
By eleven-thirty PM, the Grand Easter Ballroom was emptying rapidly.
Federal agents walked four hundred guests out through the main entrance in quiet, orderly lines, checking their identifications against a digital master manifest before permitting them onto shuttle buses waiting on the lawn.
The red emergency lights had been deactivated, replaced by the soft white illumination of the crystal chandeliers hanging overhead.
Claire stood near the open double doors, wrapped in Marcus’s olive field jacket, sipping warm coffee from a paper cup provided by a paramedic team.
Marcus stood beside her, watching two federal technicians wheeling heavy aluminum server racks out of the hidden floor hatch near the wine rack.
Claire looked down at her bare foot, where her missing heel had been lost during the struggle hours earlier.
Claire: "It’s really over, isn't it, Dad?"
Marcus looked down at her with a gentle, protective smile, wrapping his massive arm around her shoulders.
Marcus: "The Beaumont family business is over, Claire. You’re completely free."
Agent Vance walked over, carrying a small leather bag containing Claire’s recovered belongings—including her cracked smartphone and her lavender purse.
Agent Vance: "Mrs. Beaumont... your statement has been recorded. You’re free to leave whenever you’re ready. We have a secure transport waiting to take you to your father’s house in Maine."
Claire took the leather bag, looking up into Agent Vance’s face.
Claire: "Thank you, Agent Vance. For everything."
May you like
Vance nodded respectfully, then turned his gaze toward Marcus Reed.
Agent Vance: "Commander... the Director wants to know if you’re returning to active status in Washington on Monday."
