Chapter 4 - The Fall of Carmen RoblesCarmen thrashed her hands frantically against the marble pillar, her sharp, painted nails scratching against the stone as she looked at the glowing screens in total, unadulterated ruin.
"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Carmen screamed hysterically. "MY BROTHER IS THE DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER! HE WILL HAVE YOU ALL ARRESTED FOR TREASON!"
Right on cue, the double doors of the foyer opened once more.
Stepping into the room, flanked by two Federal Marshals, was Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Robles—Carmen's brother.
He didn't wear his immaculate police uniform. He wore heavy steel handcuffs around his wrists behind his back, his head bowed, his face gaunt, bloodless, and filled with complete, broken defeat.
"Richard?!" Carmen gasped, her eyes bulging out of her head.
The lead Federal Marshal stepped forward, holding out an official arrest warrant signed by the Chief Federal District Judge.
"Richard Robles was taken into federal custody thirty minutes ago, Mrs. Robles," the Marshal announced flatly. "He has been charged with Obstruction of Justice, Accepting Bribes, and Protecting Organized Crime Entities operated by Robles Construction."
Carmen let out a guttural, agonizing shriek of pure heartbreak, her knees buckling completely as she collapsed flat onto the marble floorboards, weeping like a broken child.
Alexander walked across the room, stopping directly beside the groveling woman.
He reached down, picking up the stolen property deeds for Unit 14B from the glass table.
He didn't hit her. He didn't raise his voice. He looked down at her with a quiet, weightless coldness that dropped her soul into a pit of absolute dark.
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"You counted forty slaps on my daughter's face tonight, Carmen," Alexander whispered softly, his deep baritone echoing off the high ceilings. "Now... you can count the forty years you and your son will spend in a federal maximum-security penitentiary."
Alexander turned his back on her, walking cleanly out through the ruined foyer into the rain-slicked night, flanked by his operators, leaving the entire Robles family groveling in total, public disgrace.
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