Chapter 8 - The Legal Firestorm
While Noah was being examined by Navy medical doctors in the ship’s sickbay, a diplomatic typhoon was erupting across Washington D.C., Geneva, and London.
Within twelve hours of Sterling’s arrest, Northstar Forensic Risk and the FBI released the contents of the seized servers to international law enforcement agencies. The ledgers exposed an elite network of ninety-two high-net-worth individuals across seven countries who had used Sister Beatrice’s black-market adoption network.
By sunset, federal agents were executing arrest warrants in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Zurich.
In a private briefing room aboard the cutter, General Marcus Miller sat across from me, sipping black coffee.
"You caused a lot of headaches for the State Department, Daniel," Miller said, though a proud smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "The Belizean government is screaming about air-space violations."
"Let them scream, Marcus," I said calmly, looking through the glass window toward the sickbay where Noah was eating a warm meal with Agent Vance. "My son is alive."
"Sterling’s legal team tried to file an emergency writ of habeas corpus in federal court two hours ago," Vance said, walking into the briefing room with a tablet in hand. "They claimed the extraction was an illegal military abduction."
I raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"The Attorney General personally reviewed the evidence we recovered from the island," Vance smiled sharply. "She dismissed their writ, unsealed the felony indictments for child trafficking and treason, and ordered Sterling transferred to ADX Florence under no-bail status."
Vance set a file on the table in front of me.
"Noah’s legal identity has been fully restored by the federal court, Colonel," she said softly. "He is officially Noah Caldwell again."
May you like
I stood up, shaking Vance’s hand with deep, sincere gratitude. "Thank you, Agent Vance. For everything."
"Don't thank me, Colonel," Vance replied, looking out the porthole toward the horizon. "Thank a twelve-year-old girl named Lily who had the courage to speak up."
