He Said It Was A Joke And I Made Sure It Cost Him Everything Chapter 08

He Said It Was A Joke And I Made Sure It Cost Him Everything Chapter 08

I followed his gaze.

Blue and red lights flooded the street outside the company, not one car, but a full line of them.

But more striking than the police cars were the black federal SUVs behind them, unmarked but radiating an authority that made the crowd step back.

The federal inspector stepped out of the first car. Behind him, uniformed technical staff carried forensic evidence collection gear.

“Ms. Hartwood.” He walked into the lobby and looked around at the destruction, his expression darkening. “This is the ‘warning’ you mentioned?”

“Margaret Cole’s words, not mine.”

He bent down and picked up a shattered hard drive casing. It still had a label that read “Core Data.”

“These storage devices,” he said. “Do you have backups?”

“Cloud backups, and off-site local copies.” I answered. “They didn’t know that.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, like he wanted to smile but held it back. “Good.”

He stood up and gave orders to his team. “Full evidence collection. Every floor. Every corner. Every damaged item. Model numbers. Purchase dates. And you.”

He turned to me. “You said you called 911?”

“Yes.”

“Who took the call?”

I gave him the operator’s ID number and name.

The inspector nodded. He pulled out his phone and made one call. Three sentences.

“This is Federal Inspector Marcus Dunn. The 911 call from Hartwood Capital Group is being transferred to me. Your officers don’t need to enter, just secure the perimeter.”

He hung up and turned to my parents. His voice was softer. “Mr. and Mrs. Hartwood, you’ve been through a lot. My team will take you to a quiet room. We may need statements from you later.”

My parents were stunned. They had no idea when their small company had gotten federal protection.

I patted their shoulders. “Go. I’ll handle this.”

The technical team got to work. Cameras flashed.

I followed the inspector to a quieter stairwell.

“Cole Enterprises,” he said. “What’s your priority here?”

“Justice. By the law.”

“By the law?” He raised an eyebrow. “You know the Coles have enough money and connections to make this go away with just a fine.”

“Destruction of property, even with major damage, carries three to seven years. But with good lawyers, they’d probably get probation.”

I looked out the window. I thought about all the times the Coles had pushed my family around. And if that wasn’t enough, Jackson had almost bankrupted us because of Sienna.

“What if we add more charges?”

“What do you mean?”

I pulled a file from my bag. “Cole Enterprises’ land transaction records for the last five years. I had someone look into them.”

“I was going to use this as leverage if I had to negotiate with Jackson. But now…”

I opened to a specific page. “Last year, Cole won a bid for a city landscaping project. Eighty million dollars.”

“Actual construction cost was less than twenty million. The rest was split and sent to offshore accounts in three transfers.”

“Where did you get this?” the inspector asked, his voice dropping to a near whisper.

“Jackson’s computer,” I said. “We were together for seven years. His password was my birthday. The last time I was at his apartment before we broke up, I copied his hard drive.”

The inspector looked at me for a long time. His eyes held surprise and something that might have been respect.

“Isabella Hartwood,” he said. “You were prepared for this.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I just learned,” I said quietly, “not to put all my eggs in one basket. And to keep my guard up even with people I thought I knew.”

He closed the file and thought for a moment. “This is enough to destroy the Cole family. But you need to understand. If you give this to me, there’s no going back.”

“The Coles have been in this city for thirty years. They have deep roots. They will fight back.”

“I’m offering a choice,” I said.

“What kind of choice?”

“Use this to remove them completely. Clear my name. And let Hartwood Capital Group start over, clean, with nothing hanging over us.”

The stairwell was silent for a long time.

Finally, the inspector held out his hand. “Give me the file. I’ll have an answer for you within twenty-four hours.”

I shook his hand. His grip was dry and strong.