Chapter 9 - The Final Conversation
Dominic looked back and forth between the federal agents, the flashing television cameras, and the woman standing before him. The realization hit him with the force of a freight train.
This wasn't just a server who had talked back to him. This was the architect of his total annihilation.
"How... how did you do this?" Dominic rasped out, his voice cracking as he held his silk robe closed over his trembling chest. "You were a waitress... you cleared plates!"
"I was a senior intelligence analyst for the United States government, Mr. Pierce," Cassidy corrected him, stepping into his foyer with absolute authority. "I carried plates because life presented a temporary obstacle. You, on the other hand, carry cruelty because your ego is fundamentally fragile."
The lead federal agent stepped forward, producing a legal document. "Dominic Pierce, we are serving you with a federal freeze order for securities fraud, offshore tax evasion, and illegal short-market manipulation. You are to step away from all electronic devices immediately."
Dominic sank down onto the bench in his foyer, his face completely pale, his eyes hollowed out with shock. In less than twelve hours, he had lost his reputation, his billion-dollar firm, his fortune, and his freedom.
He looked up at Cassidy, his arrogance completely shattered. "Why? Why go this far just because I made a comment at a restaurant?"
Cassidy looked down at him with quiet pity.
"Because, Mr. Pierce, you made a career out of stepping on people you assumed couldn't fight back," she said softly. "You thought money gave you the right to degrade human dignity. You thought a uniform meant a person had no mind, no story, and no power."
She leaned down slightly, looking him dead in the eye.
"Вы ошиблись," she said cleanly in flawless Russian. ("You were wrong.")
May you like
She turned on her heel and walked out of the penthouse, her high heels clicking rhythmically against the marble floor as the news cameras followed her every move.
Behind her, the federal agents stepped into the apartment, closing the door on Dominic Pierce’s ruined life forever.
