CHAPTER 139
The safe house William had provided was a penthouse apartment overlooking the river, complete with bulletproof windows and enough security to protect a head of state. It should have felt like luxury. Instead, it felt like the most expensive prison cell in the world.
I stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the city lights reflect off the water below, while behind me William's "protection detail" pretended to give me privacy. Two armed men in expensive suits who called me "ma'am" and followed my every move with their eyes.
My phone buzzed with another encrypted message from Dr. Chen: "Legal team has located your friends. Arraignment tomorrow at 2 PM. Federal courthouse, downtown."
I deleted the message and checked the time. Eighteen hours until I would have to walk into that courtroom and either destroy the men I loved or find a way to save them without compromising the mission that might save hundreds of other lives.
"Skylar?" William's voice came from behind me. "We need to discuss tomorrow's testimony."
I turned to face him, keeping my expression neutral. He was holding a tablet and wearing the satisfied smile of a man who believed he'd won.
"My testimony is straightforward," I said. "I'll tell the truth about what I witnessed."
"Good. But we need to ensure your truth aligns with the prosecution's needs." He handed me the tablet, which displayed a detailed outline of my expected testimony. "These are the key points the district attorney wants you to emphasize."
I scrolled through the document, my stomach churning with each paragraph. They wanted me to paint Harry, Jax, and Lucas as the masterminds behind everything - the trafficking operations, the warehouse explosion, even my father's death. According to this version of events, I was an innocent victim who'd been coerced into participating in their crimes.
"This is fiction," I said flatly.
"This is strategy. The jury needs a clear narrative with obvious villains and a sympathetic victim. You're much more useful as the latter."
"And if I refuse to follow this script?"
William's smile didn't waver, but something cold flickered in his eyes. "Then the immunity agreement becomes void, and you join your friends in federal prison. Along with Emma and Claire, who would lose their protective custody status."
The threat was clear. Testify as scripted, or watch everyone I cared about pay the price for my defiance.
"You've thought of everything," I said.
"I've had a lot of practice at this kind of negotiation."
I handed the tablet back to him and walked to the bar cart in the corner of the room. My hands were steady as I poured myself a drink, but inside I was calculating distances, angles, the location of every weapon in the room.
"There's something I'm curious about," I said conversationally. "How long have you been planning this specific scenario?"
"What do you mean?"
"The arrests, the immunity deal, the testimony. This feels too choreographed to be spontaneous." I took a sip of whiskey, letting the burn ground me. "You've been preparing for this moment since the night my father died, haven't you?"
William moved to pour himself a drink as well, his movements casual but his attention focused entirely on me. "I've been preparing for this moment since the night you were born."
"Explain."
"Your father was brilliant, but he lacked vision. He saw you as a tool for his personal gratification. I saw you as something much more valuable - a bridge between the old world and the new one."
"The old world being unregulated trafficking, and the new world being your corporate slavery model."
"The new world being sustainable, humane, profitable enterprise that serves legitimate market demands while protecting the people involved." He raised his glass in a mock toast. "You're going to help me build that world, Skylar. Whether you want to or not."
I finished my drink and set the glass down with deliberate care. "And if I find a way to destroy you instead?"
"Then you'll discover that some cages are more comfortable than others, but they're still cages."
The intercom crackled with a voice from the security desk downstairs. "Mr. Kane? You have visitors. Three federal marshals with what appears to be a valid warrant."
William's expression shifted from confident to concerned in the space of a heartbeat. "What kind of warrant?"
"Search and seizure, sir. They're asking about financial records related to Operation Clean Sweep."
I felt a surge of hope so intense it was almost painful. Dr. Chen hadn't just found the guys - she'd used the evidence I'd given her to launch a federal investigation into William's operations.
"You clever little bitch," William said, but there was admiration in his voice along with anger. "How long have you been feeding information to the congressional committee?"
"Since the moment you showed me those photographs of suffering children and asked me to believe you were the solution rather than the problem."
William pulled out his phone and started barking orders to someone on the other end. "Initiate Protocol Seven. Full document destruction, immediate relocation of all priority assets."
While he was distracted, I moved toward the door. If federal agents were in the building, I might have a chance to reach them before William's security could stop me.
"Going somewhere?" one of the guards asked, stepping into my path.
"The bathroom," I said sweetly. "Unless you'd like to watch?"
The guard looked uncertain, glancing between me and William, who was still on the phone coordinating what sounded like a massive cover-up operation.
"Make it quick," the guard said, stepping aside.
I walked calmly down the hallway toward the bathroom, but instead of going inside, I continued to the stairwell at the end of the corridor. The emergency stairs would take me down to the lobby, where federal agents were presumably conducting their search.
Behind me, I could hear William's voice rising as he realized I wasn't coming back. "Find her! Now!"
I took the stairs two at a time, my mind racing through possibilities. If I could reach the federal agents, I could turn over the recordings I'd made of my conversations with William. If I could convince them that I'd been working undercover...
The stairwell door on the fifteenth floor burst open, and two more guards entered above me. They were moving fast, and they had radios. It wouldn't be long before they cut off my escape routes.
I reached the lobby level and paused at the door, listening for voices on the other side. I could hear official-sounding conversation, people identifying themselves as federal agents, demands for cooperation.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped into the lobby with my hands raised.
"Federal agents!" I called out. "I'm Skylar Mitchell, and I have evidence of federal crimes!"
Three men in suits turned toward me, hands moving toward their weapons until they recognized my name.
"Ms. Mitchell," one of them said. "You're supposed to be in protective custody."
"I was being held against my will," I said. "William Kane has been using me to manufacture evidence against innocent people. I have recordings that prove it."
From somewhere above us came the sound of running feet and shouted orders. William's security team was mobilizing, and they wouldn't let federal jurisdiction stop them from retrieving their most valuable asset.
"We need to get out of here," I said urgently. "Now."
But as the agents moved to escort me from the building, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was exactly what William had wanted all along.
That somehow, even in losing, he was still winning.
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