Chapter 5 - The Standoff at Pier 42By 11:45 PM, the icy rain lashed against the towering steel shipping containers at Pier 42.
High-powered halogen floodlights illuminated the wet asphalt, casting long, dramatic shadows across twenty armed Fletcher mercenaries standing near the crane reserves.
Standing near the main crane, holding a heavy flare gun, was Richard Lawson, his face flushed with frantic, unhinged rage.
Surrounding the perimeter were twelve black armored Maybachs belonging to Vincent Castellano.
BOOM!
The central armored Maybach's double doors opened.
Stepping out onto the wet concrete, wearing an immaculate black wool overcoat, his posture broad, six-foot-two, and sovereign, was Vincent Castellano.
And stepping out directly beside his right shoulder, wearing her midnight-blue coat, her dark hair swept back in an elegant knot, her hazel eyes holding an absolute, unshakeable heat, was Amelia Vance.
Richard Lawson stared at them in total, speech-bound shock. "Vance...?! The waitress?!"
"The owner of the docks, Richard," Amelia spoke cleanly into the quiet night. Her clear voice carried over the sound of the rain and crashing ocean waves like a silver bell.
She opened a thick leather dossier bound by red judicial seals, holding up two certified legal documents.
"The secondary commercial liens you filed three hours ago are void, Richard," Amelia revealed flatly. "Because thirty minutes ago, the Federal Maritime Commission verified that every signature on those documents was forged using liquidated accounts."
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Richard went paper-white, his hand trembling over the flare gun. "YOU'RE LYING! YOU CAN'T VERIFY THOSE SIGNATURES IN THIRTY MINUTES!"
"I verified them because Vincent Castellano taught me how to read corporate maritime ledgers," Amelia revealed, taking two steps closer across the wet asphalt. "Special Agent Miller of the FBI is currently standing outside your brother's office in Manhattan with an arrest warrant for corporate wire fraud."
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