Chapter 7 - The Cornered Rats
The empire crumbled overnight.
With the FBI in possession of the ledgers, the Sterling accounts were frozen under federal RICO statutes. Eleanor’s credit cards declined at her favorite country club. Preston was fired from the board of his own company.
When criminals face decades in federal prison, loyalty vanishes.
Preston’s lawyers immediately contacted the DOJ to cut a plea deal, offering to testify that Julian was the sole mastermind behind the laundering scheme. Julian, terrified of prison, countered by offering to testify that their mother, Eleanor, was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
They were tearing each other apart, exactly as I intended.
But Julian was unhinged. Desperate, broke, and facing twenty years, he decided to make one final, fatal mistake.
It was a rainy Tuesday night. I was driving Chloe back from a therapy appointment. We were off-base, sitting at a red light, when a black SUV slammed into the rear of my Jeep.
I didn't panic. I checked my rearview mirror.
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Julian stepped out of the SUV, holding a heavy tire iron. He was drunk, drenched in rain, and completely out of his mind. He marched toward my driver's side window, raising the iron.
"You ruined my life!" he screamed.
