Saturday, 2:00 AM. The Georgetown Townhouse.
The burner phone rang three times before Evelyn Cross answered. Her voice was thick with sleep, but the underlying tension of a woman who knew she was owned by a monster was unmistakable.
"Jake," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Do you have any idea what time it is? The DOJ just raided Vanguard. My phone has been ringing off the hook for hours. The Attorney General is demanding to know why my office closed the investigation into Victoria Sterling last week."
"I know," I said, my voice cold and absolute, cutting through her panic. "Senator Hale is making her move. She's trying to burn my empire to the ground. And she's using your colleagues to do it."
"I can't stop the DOJ, Jake," Evelyn said, her voice trembling. "I'm the Director of Enforcement for the SEC, not the Attorney General. I don't have the jurisdiction to call off a federal raid."
