Chapter 14 - THE D.A.’S GAMBIT
-14
The green parlor was a quiet, windowless room lined with dark green velvet wallpaper and antique oil portraits of long-dead Marchetti patriarchs.
Arthur Sterling, a senior special investigator for the federal district attorney’s office, sat rigidly on the velvet settee. He wore a crisp gray suit and clutched a leather briefcase tightly across his knees. When the heavy double doors opened and Adeline walked in—alone, her posture regal and unyielding—he stood up quickly, adjusting his tie.
“Mrs. Marchetti,” Arthur said, offering a stiff, professional nod. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“Mr. Sterling,” Adeline replied, walking over to the fireplace and resting one hand casually on the marble mantel. She didn't invite him to sit. “My husband’s chief of security tells me you have questions about the closure of the Ashford investigation. Specifically, why the federal task force dropped all inquiries into the poisoned champagne at your wedding.”
Arthur swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward the closed door as if expecting Enzo to burst in with a shotgun. “Well... yes, Mrs. Marchetti. The public dossier states that the suspect, Thomas Jenkins, fled the jurisdiction and died in a bus accident in Wisconsin. But my office has... concerns. We have reason to believe that Viktor Vance was financing a much larger network inside the state treasurer's office, and that the investigation was abruptly buried after your marriage.”
Adeline watched him with cold, clinical detachment. She knew exactly what he was doing—fishing for a scandal, trying to find a wedge to drive between the Marchetti syndicate and the municipal government.
“Mr. Sterling,” Adeline said softly, stepping closer to the federal investigator until he was forced to look up into her unblinking gray eyes. “Let me give you a piece of professional advice. Some investigations are closed because justice was served. And some investigations are kept closed... because opening them would reveal that the federal government is entirely incapable of protecting its own citizens from the wolves.”
She reached down, picked up a sealed manila envelope from the mahogany side table, and slid it across the marble surface toward him.
Arthur looked down at the envelope. His hands trembled slightly as he picked it up and broke the wax seal. Inside were complete, unredacted bank records proving that Arthur Sterling’s own department had accepted bribes from Viktor Vance’s shell companies three years prior to bury a municipal safety report.
The color drained entirely from Arthur’s face. He dropped the papers back onto the table as if they had burned his fingers.
“This... this is—”
“This is a copy,” Adeline interrupted, her voice dropping into a chilling whisper. “The original is currently locked in a digital vault programmed to upload directly to every major news outlet in the country if I stop breathing for more than forty-eight hours. Do you understand me, Mr. Sterling?”
May you like
Arthur backed away toward the door, his hand shaking as he clutched his briefcase to his chest like a shield. “I... I have nothing further to ask, Mrs. Marchetti. The investigation is officially... closed.”
“I’m so glad we had this chat,” Adeline smiled, her expression as bright and lethal as a drawn knife. “Drive safely on your way out.”
