The Billionaire's Mistake

MISTAKE 140

Chapter 140: A national scandal

"Crystal clear, sir," Hawkins said, ending the call with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The director of intelligence stood outside the president's office, arranging his thoughts himself for a good while. After a moment's hesitation, he knocked and entered at the president's call. President Edward Ricardo looked up from his desk, his expression expectant. "Reeves, I hope you have good news for me.

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Receives cleared his throat. "I'm afraid not, Mr. President. I've just received word from the

field team. Anya Shaw... We failed to capture her. She's gone received word from the

The president's face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger. "What do you mean, 'gone'? How is that possible?"

"It appears the Shaw family moved her before our agents arrived, sir. We're still investigating how they knew about the operation."

The president slammed his fist on the desk, causing Reeves to flinch. "This is unacceptable! Do you have any idea what's at stake here, Reeves?"

"Sir, I assure you, we're doing everything in our power to locate her. But the Shaw organization is-"

"I don't want excuses!" Ricardo shouted, cutting him off. "I want results. New orders. I want every member of the Shaw family brought in. Every last one of them."

Reeves felt a chill run down his spine. "Mr. President, with all due respect, that's not possible. We don't have probable cause for most of them. It would be a clear violation of their constitutional rights."

Ricardo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Did I stutter, Director? This is a direct order from your Commander in Chief. Bring them in. All of them. I don't care how you do it."

"Sir, I must protest," Reeves said, his voice firm despite his growing unease. "This is illegal. We can't just round up an entire family without cause. If we do this, the Shaw family will have something on the agency. All of our previous findings and investigation could be ruled as a personal vendetta."

your precious protocols. This

He could not reply. If all this goes south, he would take the blame. And if he did not agree, he would

his voice barely

had taken his order and turned to leave. But unknown

buzzed. He glanced at the screen, not recognizing the number. "Winters," he answered, wedging

came a hushed voice that he recognized as one of his confidential sources. I've got

His a

pulse quickened. "I'm

"He's about to

his phone. "What? That's... that's insane. Are you

session. It's going down, Jack. And it's

couldn't be real. The President, involved in organized crime? It was too fantastical

the room. "Hey, Winters! Did you hear? Parliament's just called an emergency session. Something big's

way to the office of Evelyn Blackwood,

her office, slightly out of breath. "I've got

looked up from her computer, her eyes

be impeached. On charges of heading organized crime." Blackwood's eyebrows shot up. "That's one hell of

"It fits.

clearly racing. "If this is true, it's the story of the century. But if it's not..."

crazy," Jack said, "but my gut says this is real. We need to

her fingers steepled in front of her face. Finally, she nodded. "Alright, Winters. Tell the newsroom to go on standby. But we don't run a damn thing until we have concrete confirmation. Understood?" Jack nodded, feeling a mix of

he turned to leave, Blackwood called out, "And Winters? If this pans out, it's your story.

to the newsroom,

colleagues, he couldn't shake the feeling that they

few hours would change everything, not just for the president but for them too. There was snow news like this