Chapter 16 - The National Broadcast
Three thousand miles away, in the newsrooms of New York, Washington, and Los Angeles, screens flashed with red alert banners.
High-resolution images of the 1972 ledgers were broadcasting across millions of American television sets simultaneously.
News anchors read the documents live on air, detailing fifty years of corporate bribery, political extortion, and election tampering.
In Washington D.C., federal marshals immediately surrounded Senator Richard Vance's estate in Georgetown.
In Miami, Marcus sat in a federal interrogation room, watching his father-in-law's political empire crumble on a wall monitor.
At the Kerrville derrick, two local sheriff deputies pulled up to the rusted gates, their blue lights flashing against the trees.
They found Senator Vance standing near the open derrick hatch, his hands trembling as he stared at his glowing smartphone screen.
"Senator Vance," the lead deputy called out, drawing his sidearm. "Step away from the shaft and keep your hands visible."
Vance looked at the deputies, his silver hair wild in the wind, his tailored suit rumpled and covered in limestone dust.
He slowly set his silver cane onto the dirt, realizing that fifty years of absolute power had vanished in a single morning.
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"Open the hatch, Senator," the deputy ordered sternly. "Now."
Vance reached down with shaking fingers, entering the emergency mechanical code to release the iron locking bolts.
