Chapter 9 - The Descent into Truth
The arrival of the armed tactical operator caused several guests to scream, but Marcus immediately raised his hand, signaling for absolute order.
Marcus: "Stand down, team. The civilian perimeter is clear."
The operator lowered his weapon slightly, tapping his helmet-mounted microphone.
Tactical Operator: "Copy that, Alpha One. Unit Two is securing the secondary vault line."
Vivienne Beaumont backed away toward the floral displays, her face completely drained of color as she realized her private estate security force had been bypassed without a single shot being fired.
Vivienne: "You... you had men inside the bunker before you even walked into the ballroom?"
Marcus looked at her, his voice flat and authoritative.
Marcus: "My team entered through the municipal drainage access forty-five minutes ago, Vivienne. I didn't come here to start a fight. I came here to trigger the Black Code once the server files were cloned."
Claire looked at her father, her voice trembling with awe and disbelief.
Claire: "Dad... you planned this whole thing?"
Marcus gently placed his hand on Claire’s shoulder.
Marcus: "I couldn't get a federal search warrant for a private country club without undeniable proof of illegal transmission, Claire. I needed Preston to step out of line in front of four hundred witnesses while the server was actively broadcasting."
Preston looked up from the floor, his face pale, his split lip bleeding onto his navy shirt.
Preston: "You used me...? You let me drag her across the floor just to trigger your damn protocol?!"
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Marcus took a fast, powerful step toward Preston, grabbing him by the lapels of his navy suit and lifting him six inches off the marble floor with one arm!
Marcus: "I didn't let you do anything, Preston! You chose to put your hands on my daughter! And that choice just cost you the rest of your life!"
