“It was unforgettable, Julian,” I replied, my voice smooth as silk as I buckled Lily’s light jacket. “Truly.”
We walked through the jet bridge and entered the bustling terminal.
The moment we stepped into the gate lobby, the ordinary airport chatter seemed to disappear.
Standing in a precise line near the gate podium were six federal agents in dark suits, accompanied by two armed Customs and Border Protection officers.
At the center of the group stood my friend Sarah, holding an official leather file folder.
Julian slowed down, his brow furrowing as he looked toward the officers.
“What’s going on here? Medical emergency?”
He attempted to guide us around the perimeter toward the main concourse.
“Julian Vance?” Sarah’s voice rang out sharp and clear across the gate area.
Julian stopped and forced a polite, professional smile.
“Yes? Can I help you, officer?”
Sarah stepped forward and removed a signed document from her folder.
“I am Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Lin. I have a federal warrant for your arrest, as well as a search and seizure warrant for your personal baggage, digital devices, and corporate accounts.”
Julian’s polite smile faltered for a fraction of a second, but his arrogant composure quickly returned.
He let out a soft, amused chuckle.
“I think there’s been a massive misunderstanding, Attorney Lin,” Julian said smoothly, stepping in front of me as though he were protecting me. “I am a respected financial adviser. If this is about my brother-in-law’s port logistics firm, I assure you I have no operational authority over his filings—”
“Save it, Julian,” Sarah cut in coldly. “We executed search warrants on your Chicago office and your private residence two hours ago. We’ve already recovered the secondary ledgers, the offshore routing keys, and the encrypted communications between your terminal servers and the shell entities.”
Julian’s face turned completely white.
His eyes darted frantically around the terminal, searching for an exit, searching for a lie, searching for any possible escape from the trap closing around him.
“That’s impossible…” he whispered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his leather briefcase. “No one had access to those files…”
