Chapter 7: The Federal Raid
Grant thought he was being arrested for trespassing. He was wrong. The Dallas police handed him over to the federal authorities waiting in the underground parking garage. Based on the financial ledgers Vanessa had traded for her own skin, the SEC and the FBI had issued federal warrants.
As Grant was being shoved into the back of a federal transport vehicle, a team of twenty FBI agents raided his storage units, his remaining safe deposit boxes, and the offshore accounts linked to his name. The local Dallas news stations broadcast the raid live on the 5:00 PM news. Helicopter footage showed federal agents carrying boxes of evidence out of his former startup headquarters.
The public humiliation was absolute. In the wealthy enclaves of Highland Park and Preston Hollow, Grant’s name became a toxic punchline. The tech community he had so desperately tried to impress publicly condemned him. His fraternity brothers, his golf partners, the men he drank expensive scotch with—they all deleted his number.
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I sat in the penthouse with my father, watching the news broadcast on a massive flat screen. The anchor detailed the multi-million dollar fraud charges, noting that the CEO was currently being held without bail at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.
My father handed me a crystal glass of sparkling cider. He raised his bourbon. "To justice, Claire." I clinked my glass against his. "No, Dad. To consequences."
