The Trillionaire System : From Disgrace To Domination

Chapter 18 : The Investigation

Marcus Reed worked fast.

Jake had given him two weeks.

Marcus finished in twelve days.

Jake arrived at his office on a gray afternoon. The building looked ordinary. Just another concrete block wedged between law firms and insurance offices downtown.

There was no company name on the door. Only a small metal number.

Jake knocked once and stepped inside.

Marcus’s office was bare. A desk crowded with papers. Two metal filing cabinets. A map of the city pinned to the wall.

Red pins marked different locations. Strings connected some of them like a spider web.

Marcus sat behind the desk, hunched over a laptop. His hair looked like he had run his hands through it too many times. Dark stubble covered his jaw.

He looked exhausted.

But his eyes were sharp.

“Sit down,” Marcus said.

Jake pulled out the chair.

“You’re going to want to see this.”

Marcus turned the laptop so Jake could see the screen.

Rows of numbers filled the display. Dates. Transfers. Account numbers.

“Gary Webb has been dirty for years,” Marcus said.

Jake leaned forward.

“This isn’t his first bribe. It’s just the biggest one.”

Marcus tapped the keyboard and opened another file.

“Six unexplained deposits over the past four years,” he said. “All of them hit his accounts right before development permits were approved or blocked.”

Jake studied the spreadsheet.

Fifty thousand.

Eighty thousand.

Two hundred thousand.

The pattern was obvious.

“How did you find this?” Jake asked quietly.

Marcus shrugged.

“Let’s just say I had help getting access to banking records.”

Jake raised an eyebrow.

Marcus smirked slightly.

“You don’t want details.”

Jake let it go.

“What about the Cayman transfer?” he asked.

Marcus opened another document.

Bank statements filled the screen. Several lines were highlighted in yellow.

“The four hundred and eighty thousand?” Marcus said.

Jake nodded.

“That came in six weeks ago.”

Marcus zoomed in on the transactions.

“Three wire transfers. Three different shell corporations.”

He pointed at the first one.

“Harborview Capital LLC. One hundred and sixty thousand.”

His finger moved down.

“Eastside Holdings Group. Another one hundred and sixty.”

Then the third.

“Metropolitan Development Partners. Same amount.”

Jake folded his arms.

“Let me guess,” he said. “Victor Steele.”

Marcus nodded slowly.

“Eventually.”

Jake frowned.

“What do you mean eventually?”

Marcus leaned back in his chair.

“Victor was careful. None of these companies lead directly to Steele Industries.”

He clicked through a chain of corporate filings.

“Harborview is owned by a holding company in Delaware.”

Another file appeared.

“That holding company is owned by another company registered in Nevada.”

He opened a third screen.

“And that one finally connects to Steele Industries.”

Jake let out a slow breath.

“Three layers.”

Marcus nodded.

“Exactly. Designed to make investigators give up halfway.”

“But you didn’t.”

Marcus allowed himself a tired smile.

“Took eight days and a forensic accountant who owed me a favor.”

Jake stared at the screen again.

“So the money definitely came from Victor.”

“Without question.”

Jake leaned back in his chair.

For a moment he just looked at the evidence.

Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

Enough to buy silence.

Enough to stop a project worth hundreds of millions.

“This should be enough to prosecute,” Jake said.

Marcus didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he closed the laptop slowly.

“That depends,” he said.

“On what?”

“On who does the prosecuting.”

Jake felt a knot form in his stomach.

“Explain.”

Marcus rested his elbows on the desk.

“Gary Webb has been in city politics for twelve years,” he said. “He’s built relationships. Favors. Alliances.”

Jake waited.

Marcus sighed.

“The district attorney is one of them.”

Jake felt his stomach drop.

“You’re serious?”

“Very.”

Marcus reached for a file and slid it across the desk.

“The DA. Jennifer Carlson. She worked on Webb’s first campaign.”

Jake opened the file.

Photos.

Articles.

Political fundraisers.

“Webb helped her get appointed to a judgeship,” Marcus continued. “Before she ran for DA.”

Jake closed the file slowly.

“So if I bring this evidence to the DA’s office…”

“Webb knows about it within an hour.”

“And then?”

Marcus spread his hands.

“He destroys anything we haven’t found. Calls his lawyers. Starts claiming you’re the criminal.”

Jake stood up.

He walked to the window and stared down at the traffic crawling through the streets below.

“So we have proof,” he said quietly.

“But no way to use it.”

Marcus shook his head.

“I didn’t say that.”

Jake turned.

“There are other options,” Marcus continued. “Federal prosecutors. State attorney general. The FBI.”

Jake considered it.

“Would they take the case?”

Marcus nodded.

“With this evidence? Probably.”

Jake felt a flicker of hope.

Then Marcus added the rest.

“But federal investigations move slow.”

Jake already knew what was coming.

“How slow?”

“Months,” Marcus said. “Maybe longer.”

Jake rubbed his temples.

“My property deal closes in thirty days.”

Marcus nodded.

“If permits aren’t approved by then,” Jake continued, “I lose three million dollars.”

“And the project dies,” Marcus finished.

Silence filled the room.

Finally Marcus spoke again.

“There is one faster option.”

Jake looked up.

“Which is?”

Marcus leaned forward.

“The press.”

Jake blinked.

“You’re serious.”

“Very.”

Marcus opened the laptop again.

“One reporter in this city loves corruption stories.”

A name appeared on the screen.

Amanda Cross.

“Investigative journalist for the Herald,” Marcus said. “She’s taken down two council members and a police captain in the last two years.”

Jake studied the name.

“Can we trust her?”

Marcus nodded.

“She’s tough. Careful. And she hates corrupt politicians.”

Jake paced slowly across the office.

Going public meant war.

Victor wouldn’t stay quiet.

Neither would Webb.

But what choice did he have?

“Set up a meeting,” Jake said.

Marcus grabbed his phone.

“I already did.”

---

Two days later, Jake sat in a quiet booth at a small restaurant downtown.

Across from him sat Amanda Cross.

She looked younger than Jake expected. Early thirties. Dark hair pulled back. Sharp eyes behind black glasses.

A recorder rested on the table beside her notebook.

“Mr. Morrison,” she said. “Marcus says you have something big.”

Jake slid a thick folder across the table.

“Gary Webb is taking bribes,” Jake said. “To block development permits.”

Amanda opened the folder.

She flipped through the pages quickly.

Bank transfers.

Corporate records.

Account numbers.

Her eyes moved faster with each page.

After several minutes she looked up.

“Where did you get this?”

“Private investigator.”

“Legally?”

Jake hesitated.

“Mostly.”

Amanda smiled faintly.

“I’ll need to verify everything before publishing,” she said.

Jake nodded.

“You should.”

Amanda opened her notebook.

“Start from the beginning,” she said.

Jake told her everything.

The permit delays.

The endless inspections.

Victor’s interference.

Amanda wrote constantly as he spoke.

She didn’t interrupt once.

When Jake finished, she closed the notebook.

“One question,” she said.

Jake waited.

“Why are you doing this?”

Jake didn’t hesitate.

“Because it’s wrong.”

Amanda tilted her head slightly.

“That’s the moral answer.”

Jake sighed.

“Fine. It’s also revenge.”

Amanda nodded.

“Fair enough.”

She leaned back in the booth.

“You should understand what happens when this publishes,” she said.

“I do.”

“No,” she said calmly. “You probably don’t.”

Jake watched her carefully.

“Webb will attack you,” she continued. “He’ll call you a liar. Claim you fabricated evidence. Say you’re a disgruntled developer.”

“I expected that.”

“He’ll try to destroy your reputation,” Amanda said. “Your business. Everything.”

Jake met her gaze.

“I’m ready.”

Amanda studied him for several seconds.

Then she nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll run the story.”

Jake exhaled slowly.

“But I need time,” she continued. “To verify everything.”

“How much time?”

“Two weeks.”

Jake felt his chest tighten.

“I only have thirty days before my deal collapses.”

Amanda gathered the documents.

“Then let’s hope we beat that clock.”

---

The next two weeks crawled by.

Jake kept submitting permit paperwork.

Attending meetings.

Answering pointless requests.

But his attention was elsewhere.

Waiting.

Marcus called every few days.

“Amanda confirmed the offshore accounts.”

Another call.

“She found two other developers Webb blocked.”

Then another.

“The story is solid.”

On day twenty seven, Marcus called again.

His voice sounded tense.

“We need to meet,” he said.

“Now.”

Jake drove straight to his office.

Marcus was pacing when he arrived.

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

Marcus stopped walking.

“Someone tipped off Webb.”

Jake felt his chest tighten.

“He knows we’re investigating him.”

Jake’s jaw clenched.

“How?”

“Not sure,” Marcus said. “But that’s not the worst part.”

Jake waited.

Marcus exhaled slowly.

“Webb has friends in the DA’s office.”

Jake already knew where this was going.

“They’re talking about investigating you.”

Jake stared at him.

“For what?”

“Illegal surveillance,” Marcus said. “Accessing financial records.”

Jake laughed bitterly.

“So I expose corruption and I’m the criminal.”

Marcus shrugged.

“Politics.”

Jake paced across the office.

“What about Amanda’s story?”

“It helps,” Marcus said. “But it won’t stop them.”

Jake stopped walking.

“So what do we do?”

Marcus opened his laptop again.

“We have two options.”

Jake folded his arms.

“First option. We go to the FBI now. Let them build a federal case.”

Jake shook his head.

“That takes too long.”

Marcus nodded.

“Second option. Amanda publishes immediately.”

Jake looked up.

“Before Webb prepares his defense,” Marcus continued. “Before the DA flips the investigation.”

Jake thought for a moment.

Then he nodded.

“Call her.”

Marcus dialed immediately.

Amanda answered.

Marcus explained the situation quickly.

Jake watched his face as he listened.

“How fast?” Marcus asked.

A pause.

Then he nodded.

“Tomorrow works.”

He hung up.

Jake waited.

Marcus looked at him.

“Front page,” he said. “Tomorrow morning.”

Jake nodded slowly.

Marcus closed the laptop.

“There’s something else you need to understand.”

Jake looked at him.

“We have enough evidence to bury Webb,” Marcus said.

He paused.

“And Victor Steele.”

Jake felt the weight of those words.

“But when this story breaks,” Marcus continued, “there’s a real chance they come after you instead.”

Jake’s jaw tightened.

“Let them.”

Marcus shook his head slowly.

“This could blow up in your face.”

Jake stared at the map on the wall.

The red strings.

The connections.

The corruption.

Then he looked back at Marcus.

“Then we don’t play their game,” Jake said quietly.

Marcus waited.

Jake’s voice hardened.

“We go to the press.”