NOVEL NEXT Chapter 276: Sledgehammer Headline
And so it happened. Just weeks after Lilian Greaves made the unbelievable discovery, everything came crashing down.
The Monday was just like every other ordinary Mondays but then, Business Everyday broke the news. A single, meticulously sourced exposé on the paper's front page, and the main news on the television.
The headline wasn't subtle: "DFI DEPUTY DIRECTOR WARREN CALDRIDGE IMPLICATED IN SHADOW FINANCIAL NETWORK 'EXILE' – STOLE SEIZED ASSETS TO BUILD CRIMINAL EMPIRE."
Everything Caldridge had done up to that point was laid bare before everyone through that sledgehammer of an article.
It laid bare the pattern Lilian had unearthed: ArkOne, Madrigal, Cerberus, Valkyrie. It named names, cited internal routing logs (anonymously sourced, but chillingly specific), and detailed the reactivation of supposedly destroyed criminal infrastructure under the EXILE banner.
Crucially, it linked administrative commands directly to Caldridge's Level Nine access, timestamped during his DFI office hours. All the digital fingerprints were damning.
And it didn't take long for the tremor to become an earthquake in only mere minutes after the news came out.
"BREAKING: DFI DEPUTY DIRECTOR CALDRIDGE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY!"
That one came from the Global News Wire
"SCANDAL ROCKS FINANCIAL REGULATOR: TOP COP ACCUSED OF BEING MASTER CRIMINAL!" – CNN
#EXILE #DFIScam TRENDING NATIONWIDE! —Fox Business News
Like wildfire, the story spread, hitting every piece of media. Random citizens who were at home, at bars, coffee shops and restaurants, lifted their gazes to the television, watching the news.
"We... we are receiving confirmed reports that Deputy Director Warren Caldridge of the Department of Financial Integrity has been arrested by federal agents outside DFI headquarters this morning. This follows explosive allegations published just hours ago detailing his alleged involvement in a vast shadow financial network known as EXILE, which purportedly utilized assets seized by the DFI itself in its operations..."
The camera cut to shaky phone footage: Caldridge, stone-faced, suit jacket rumpled, being escorted into an unmarked sedan by other similarly stone-faced agents, and Lilian Greaves in the background, hands folded and face solemn.
The crowd of reporters outside DFI headquarters roared questions as they thrust their microphones forward like spears.
"...Sources indicate the investigation was triggered internally, though the DFI itself has issued no official statement beyond confirming Caldridge's suspension pending investigation. The implications... are staggering. The very agency tasked with policing financial crime..."
The reporter took a shaky breath, her professionalism warring with palpable shock. "Staggering indeed, Mark. This isn't just about one corrupt official. This strikes at the heart of the DFI's legitimacy. If the public cannot trust the watchdog, who can they trust? We're already seeing reactions flood social media..."
That was true. In CryptoTracker for an example. The news was being broadcasted live and the live comments were well... There was a lot of it.
@HandsomeDuckling: HOLY SHIT!! CALDRIDGE WAS EXILE?!?! THE DFI IS A F***ING JOKE! #DFIscam #Exposed
@GoldBugBetty: Told you all!! Gov't regulators are the biggest crooks! Who polices the police?! #BitcoinFreedom #ExileRevealed
@ScotlandStan: This is catastrophic for market confidence. How many cases did Caldridge oversee? How many convictions are now suspect? #FinancialChaos #DFILegitimacyDead
@BlockchainBard: Remember all those DFI warnings about crypto being 'dangerous' and 'unregulated'? Pot, meet kettle. BIGGEST BLACK SWAN EVENT EVER FOR BTC! #ToTheMoon #Hypocrites
@Lilith_Trades: So the DFI spent years badmouthing Bitcoin while their boss was running a literal criminal financial network using STOLEN ASSETS?! The irony is THICK. #Bitcoin #ExileFallout
Numerous companies and businesses all over the country also commented on this problem. Their companies were being affected, their stock values and investments had been one way or the other influenced by the DFI's control in the economy.
"Unprecedented! This undermines every regulation, every compliance standard we've adhered to under DFI oversight!" One business man bellowed.
"The potential for lawsuits is astronomical. If the cases he oversaw are tainted..." Another said.
"The immediate fallout is bad enough. The long-term damage to trust in any financial regulation... it could take a generation to rebuild." Marcus Devereaux, Chairman, National Commerce Federation made this very comment to his subordinates.
"We need a full, independent audit of EVERYTHING Caldridge touched. Immediately. And the DFI leadership needs to resign. En masse."
"Resign? The whole agency might need to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch! Who would trust it now?"
And as the country and the world of finance fell in shambles, Lilian, who had caused all of this by reporting Caldridge to the authorities, wasn't having the best of days.
It was bittersweet. Maybe more bitter than it was sweet.
She hadn't slept at all the last night. She sat on her sofa, bathed in the flickering, accusatory glow of the wall-mounted news screen. The arrest footage looped. Caldridge's face, stripped of its power, filled the frame. She felt hollowed out, a vessel filled only with cold ash and a profound, sickening sense of betrayal.
After they were all told to return home, she realized how alone she felt now. If the DFI was removed because of this, she would have nothing except her daughter.
For a moment, she felt like she deserved it. Because, she'd done it. She'd pulled the trigger, providing the tip and the encrypted data packet to the investigators.
But seeing Caldridge arrested wasn't victory; it was the detonation of her own world.
A notification popped up on her phone, vibrating insistently against the coffee table. Not CryptoTracker this time. A message from Cho:
Cho: Saw the news. Holy hell, Lilian. You were right. Are you okay?
The simple question nearly broke her. Was she okay?
Her mentor, the symbol of the integrity she'd dedicated her life to, was a fraud. The institution she bled for was revealed as a shield for a monster. What did 'okay' even mean? She couldn't bring herself to reply. The phone screen dimmed.
Lilian placed her head on the table and cried.
Meanwhile, victory belonged to one man and one man alone.
Just as predicted, Bitcoin had been climbing steadily since the first headlines hit, fueled by the tsunami of disbelief and outrage.
The DFI's years of stern warnings, their cautious (often hostile) stance towards cryptocurrency, now looked like the ultimate hypocrisy— a smokescreen thrown up by a criminal masquerading as a cop. Distrust in the traditional system bled directly into trust in the decentralized alternative.
And because of this, everyone was now thinking; What if Bitcoin wasn't volatile at all. What if they were all lying?
So the graph line made like Superman and flew straight into the sky. Breaking resistance levels like they were tissue paper.
$190... $205... $228...
Chatter on CryptoTracker and other platforms was frenzied, a self-fulfilling prophecy of panic buying and euphoria.
Bitcoin pinged at the highest level ever recorded. $250!
Darren Steele picked up the fancy glass cup on his table, filled with dark gold whiskey. He took a villainous sip before placing it gently on the table once more.
A smile, slow and undeniable, spread across Darren Steele's face. The expression of a man witnessing the flawless execution of a masterstroke.
The system interface hovered in front of him, and with the air of finality, Darren tapped SELL.