The silver bell struck the edge of the breakfast tray hard enough to make every crystal glass in the room seem to tremble.

"FBI! Don't move!" Claire’s voice echoed like thunder inside the boathouse.

Vanessa shrieked, dropping her leather handbag onto the wooden dock. The two armed mercenaries standing beside the boat swung their rifles toward the doorway, but Adrian stepped up beside Claire, firing two heavy rounds from his caliber pistol.

Both mercenaries went down instantly, splashing into the dark, icy lake water.

Vanessa backed away toward the edge of the speedboat, her designer dress soaked in rain, her face pale with absolute terror.

"Adrian!" Vanessa cried out, her voice high and hysterical. "Oh thank God you're alive! They... they attacked the house! My father tried to stop them! They forced me down here!"

Adrian walked slowly onto the wooden dock, his dark suit soaked, blood staining his shirt, his eyes cold enough to freeze the lake beneath them.

"Save it, Vanessa," Adrian said quietly. "I heard Victor in my study. I know about the Detroit syndicate. I know about the catering staff."

Vanessa’s frantic act dissolved in an instant. Her eyes flicked toward Claire, recognizing the former maid standing in full combat gear holding a federal badge and a gun.

"You..." Vanessa spat, her voice twisted with venom. "You filthy little maid... you brought the feds here?!"

"Special Agent Bennett, actually," Claire said, stepping onto the dock with her weapon trained squarely on Vanessa’s chest. "Vanessa Carlisle, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, racketeering, and treason against the United States."

"You can't arrest me!" Vanessa screamed, pulling a small pearl-handled revolver from her coat pocket. "I am a Carlisle! My family owns this state!"

She raised the gun toward Claire.

CRACK!

A single gunshot echoed through the boathouse.

Vanessa dropped the gun, clutching her shattered wrist as she collapsed onto the wooden planks, weeping hysterically in pain and defeat.

Adrian lowered his smoking gun, his expression totally indifferent.

In the distance, the wailing sirens of approaching federal law enforcement vehicles cut through the night, echoing across Lake Ashford. Dozens of flashing red and blue lights began illuminating the fog surrounding the estate.