Chapter 4
Heavy combat boots thundered up the wooden staircase as four armed military investigators rushed into the bedroom.
"Secure the suspects!" the lead investigator commanded, his rifle held safely at the low-ready position.
Mark was ripped away from Thomas's grip, shoved face-down onto the hallway carpet, and cuffed with heavy steel restraints.
"Get these cuffs off me! Do you know who my father is?!" Mark screamed into the carpet fibers.
"Your father is a disgraced former state senator who died in prison, Mark," Thomas stated coldly, looking down at him.
"And you are about to join him in a federal penitentiary for the next thirty years."
Eleanor attempted to slip past the investigators toward the stairs, clutching her designer handbag tightly to her chest.
"I am an American citizen, and I demand to speak to my attorney right now!" Eleanor squawked indignantly.
A female military investigator stepped into her path, blocking the doorway with unwavering physical presence.
"Step back, ma'am, under federal security detainment protocols," the investigator instructed, pulling out a pair of zip-ties.
"You are being detained as a material witness and co-conspirator in an international organ trafficking ring."
"This is an outrage!" Eleanor shrieked as her wrists were bound tightly behind her back.
Downstairs, the sound of filing cabinets being forced open and digital servers being unplugged echoed through the vents.
Thomas walked back to the bedside, sitting gently on the edge of the mattress next to his exhausted daughter.
He reached out, his calloused thumb gently wiping away a stray tear from Clara's pale cheek.
"You're safe now, sweetheart," Thomas murmured, his stern military exterior melting into deep paternal love.
"An army medical transport is waiting outside to take you directly to Walter Reed Hospital."
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Clara managed a weak, grateful smile, leaning her head against her father's olive green shoulder.
"I knew you would come find me, Dad," Clara whispered softly.
