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."

the president roared, causing the director to take an involuntary step back. "I don't care about your precious protocols. This is bigger than you know. Now, are you going to follow

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

a long moment, the director spoke, his voice barely above

and turned to leave. But unknown to him, the Shaw was

of the Capital Daily, reporter Jack Winters was wrapping up his latest story when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, not recognizing

that he recognized as one of his confidential sources.

His a national

pulse quickened.

said, pausing for effect. "He's about to be impeached. Charges of heading organized

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

Parliament's called an emergency session. It's going down, Jack. And it's going down

couldn't be real. The President, involved

then, his colleague Mary called out from across the room. "Hey, Winters! Did you hear? Parliament's just called an emergency session. Something big's happening. Jack felt the blood drain from his face. It

a moment's hesitation, he jumped to his feet and made his way to the office of Evelyn

burst into her office, slightly

computer, her eyes narrowing. "This better be

to be impeached. On charges of heading organized crime." Blackwood's eyebrows shot up. "That's one hell of an accusation, Winters. You'd better have more than just an anonymous

session," Jack pressed on. "It fits. And

her chair, her mind clearly racing. "If this is true, it's the story of the century. But if it's not..." She let

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

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

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

to the newsroom, his mind already

couldn't shake the feeling that they were standing on pure Intel. This would

next few hours would change everything, not just for the president