"He was leaving on November twelfth. Destination: Buenos Aires."
I took a deep, shuddering breath. For a fraction of a second, an icy wave of shock washed through me.
But it was immediately burned away by an overwhelming, incandescent fury.
I looked up at Victoria. "Does the prosecutor have this?"
"Assistant U.S. Attorney Martinez received the complete dossier two hours ago," Victoria smiled, a wolfish, predatory grin spreading across her face. "Wire fraud and embezzlement were already looking at eight to ten years."
"Corporate espionage and theft of trade secrets under the Economic Espionage Act? That pushes the sentencing guidelines into twenty to twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary."
"What about Viktor Vance-Kovacs?"
"The FBI raided Aether Dynamics’ corporate headquarters forty minutes ago," Victoria said. "Viktor is currently in federal custody."
"And according to my sources at the courthouse, Viktor’s lawyers are already offering full cooperation against Daniel Sterling to save their own skin."
I stood up from the chair, smoothing down the fabric of my suit.
"Where is Daniel right now?"
"He was subpoenaed for an emergency preliminary disposition hearing at the federal courthouse on Pearl Street at two o'clock," Victoria said, checking her watch.
"In exactly thirty-five minutes."
"Call Julian," I said, my voice ringing with cold, absolute authority. "Tell him to bring the original patent logs."
"I'm going to Pearl Street."
Thirty minutes later, the grand marble corridors of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse were buzzing with reporters and sketch artists.
When my black chauffeured Maybach pulled up to the security barricade, the flashbulbs went off in a blinding wall of light. Flanked by Frank, Thomas, and Victoria, I walked up the courthouse steps with absolute composure.
As we passed through the metal detectors and entered Courtroom 404, the heavy wooden doors clicked shut behind us.
The room was freezing cold. Seated at the defense table was Daniel Sterling.
He was unrecognizable from the polished, radiant groom of four weeks ago. His suit was a cheap, off-the-rack polyester ensemble that hung loosely on his frame; he had lost at least fifteen pounds.
His cheeks were hollow, his dark hair thinning and uncombed.
Beside him sat a court-appointed public defender who looked exhausted and overwhelmed.
When the double doors opened and I walked into the gallery, Daniel whipped his head around. His eyes widened in absolute, agonizing terror.
He stood up, knocking his chair back with a sharp screech against the linoleum. "Claire!"
"Sit down, Mr. Sterling!" Judge Evelyn Thorne barked from the bench, slamming her gavel down with the force of a thunderclap.
"One more outburst from you, and I will have you held in contempt and remanded into custody immediately!"
Daniel stumbled back into his seat, his hands gripping his thighs, his body shaking uncontrollably.
I sat in the front row of the gallery, directly behind the prosecution table.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Martinez stood up, buttoning his jacket. "Your Honor, the government wishes to amend the indictment against Daniel Sterling."
"Based on evidence uncovered in coordination with federal agents and the victim’s counsel, we are adding four counts of attempted theft of trade secrets, two counts of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, and aggravated identity theft."
Daniel let out a sharp, choked gasp. He turned violently toward his lawyer, whispering frantically, his hands flying in the air.
His public defender simply shook his head, holding up a hand to quiet him.
"Furthermore, Your Honor," Martinez continued relentlessly, "we have received a sworn proffer of testimony from Viktor Vance-Kovacs, former CEO of Aether Dynamics."
"Mr. Vance-Kovacs has provided encrypted email logs, audio recordings, and escrow transfer receipts proving that the defendant actively solicited forty-five million dollars in exchange for stolen proprietary algorithmic data belonging to NexaCore Technologies."
"That's a lie!" Daniel suddenly screamed, leaping to his feet, tears streaming down his face as he pointed a shaking finger at me.
"She set me up! Viktor set me up!"
Claire, tell them! Tell them you gave me permission!
"I was trying to save the company! I did it for us!"
Judge Thorne’s face darkened with absolute fury.
"Bailiffs," she said, her voice dropping into a deadly, icy whisper. "Take him down."
Two armed federal marshals moved with terrifying speed. They grabbed Daniel by his arms, kicked his legs apart, and slammed his chest hard against the defense table.
"Claire! Claire, please!"
Daniel sobbed, his face pressed flat against the polished wood as the handcuffs bit deep into his wrists. "Look at me!"
Don't let them do this to me! I'm sorry!
I'm sorry about the condos! I'm sorry about my mother!
Claire, please! I'll die in prison!
"Look at me!"
I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on the wooden railing of the gallery.
I looked him straight in the eyes.
There was no hatred in my gaze. Hatred requires passion.
What I felt was the profound, tranquil indifference of a surgeon watching a malignant tumor being removed from a healthy body.
"Goodbye, Daniel," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, yet carrying clearly across the quiet courtroom.