Chapter 13 - Handcuffs in the Grand Ballroom and the Fall of a Twenty-Year Traitor
By dawn, the street in front of Bellweather was cordoned off with yellow police tape, but the news trucks were already broadcasting live to every financial channel in the country.
Daniel Reed and Gavin Pike were led out through the grand arched entrance in heavy federal handcuffs, their heads bowed beneath the glare of dozens of flashing cameras.
Federal agents were carrying out boxes of confiscated hard drives, covert chemical vials recovered from Pike's locker, and the heavy leather duffel bag containing two million dollars in laundered cash.
Ethan Brooks stood on the sidewalk beneath the Bellweather awning, dressed in a fresh wool overcoat brought to him by his corporate team. Beside him stood Detective Marcus Vance and Chef Antoine, whose arm was now securely set in a medical sling.
"The federal prosecutor just signed the asset freeze on Helios Holdings," Detective Vance reported, hanging up his phone. "Every single dollar Reed stole over the last four years has been intercepted. The Cayman accounts are locked down. Mia’s family name is officially expunged from the criminal registry."
Antoine turned to Ethan, his eyes shining with gratitude. "What happens to Bellweather now, Mr. Brooks? The dining room smells like gasoline and the whole city knows we were targeted."
Ethan looked up at the iconic brass sign bearing the restaurant's name.
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"Bellweather is going to close for two weeks of complete historical renovation," Ethan announced. "And when it reopens... it will reopen under the name it should have carried from the very beginning."
He turned to look at Mia, who was standing quietly near the edge of the awning, watching the sunrise break through the departing storm clouds.
