Chapter 9 - THE DIGITAL RECKONING AND THE FIRST CRACKS IN THE CARTER EMPIRE
While the snow continued to bury the cabin,
Savannah and Julian began their counter-attack.
Julian opened his laptop,
the glow of the screen the only light in the dim room.
Savannah dictated the passwords,
the codes she had memorized over years of playing the dutiful wife.
She knew where the bodies were buried,
both figuratively and literally.
She knew about the shell companies in Panama,
the bribes paid to the port authority,
and the illegal shipments of steel that had built Roman’s towers.
"Start with the environmental reports,"
Savannah said,
her voice cold.
"The ones from the South Side project."
"The one where the ground was contaminated with lead and mercury."
"He built a school over that land,
Julian."
"He knew the children would get sick,
but he didn't want to lose the profit."
Julian’s fingers flew across the keys,
his face a mask of grim determination.
"It's done,"
he said,
hitting the enter key.
"The files are on the servers of every major news outlet in the state."
"By morning,
the EPA will be at his door."
Savannah felt a grim satisfaction.
It was the first time she had ever fought back,
the first time she had ever used Roman’s own weapons against him.
But she wasn't done.
She moved to the private emails,
the ones between Roman and the Senator.
She saw the deals made in the dark,
the promises of power in exchange for silence.
"Send these to the federal prosecutor,"
she commanded.
As the night wore on,
the Carter empire began to bleed.
In Chicago,
Roman sat in his office,
watching as his phone exploded with alerts.
His stock was plummeting,
his partners were withdrawing,
and his lawyers were sounding the alarm.
He stood by the window,
watching the snow fall,
his face a mask of stone.
He knew it was her.
Only Savannah could have found those files.
Only Savannah knew how much he had risked to build his throne.
He felt a strange mix of rage and admiration.
The woman he thought was a bird in a cage had turned out to be a hawk.
"Find her,"
he whispered to the empty room.
"Before she burns everything I own."
In the cabin,
Savannah watched the sun rise over the frozen trees.
She was tired,
she was in pain,
but for the first time in years,
she felt powerful.
She looked at Maya,
who was stretching her tiny limbs in the light of the dawn.
"I'm tearing it all down,
Maya,"
May you like
she whispered.
"So you never have to see it."
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