Chapter 262
Chapter 262
The sky turned overcast, and a thin drizzle began early in the morning.
The visiting room at the detention center smelled of damp mildew. Rain tapped against the windows in a steady, fine patter.
Lillian sat in a plastic chair, waiting for her lawyer.
When the door opened, it wasn't a lawyer who walked in. It was a female officer, holding a manila envelope.
"Lillian. Mail for you."
She set the envelope on the table and left.
Lillian blinked.
In all the time she'd been locked up, she had never received a single piece of mail. She picked up the envelope with suspicion and turned it over.
No return address. No sender's name. Just her own name written in the recipient line.
She tore it open and pulled out what was inside.
A photograph.
Her mother, carrying a grocery bag, stepping out of a run-down apartment building. Completely unaware.
The angle was clearly taken in secret. The zoom was tight enough to show every strand of gray hair at her mother's temples.
Lillian's fingers began to tremble.
She flipped the photo over. On the back, written in black marker: [Say what you're supposed to say. Keep your mouth shut about the rest. Next time, it won't be a photo.]
Her blood froze.
She shoved the photo back into the envelope, shot to her feet, and rushed to the door, pounding on the metal with both fists.
"I need to see Katniss! I need to see Katniss—now! Right now!"
Her voice echoed down the corridor, shrill enough to raise the hair on the back of your neck.
---
Katniss was packing things at her apartment when the call from the detention center came through.
Since her suspension, the company car had been taken back. She relied on rideshares now.
The voice on the other end was clipped and official.
"Lillian is requesting to see you. She says it's urgent."
Katniss held the phone, silent for two seconds. "I'm on my way."
By the time she arrived, Lillian had already been brought to the visiting room.
Through the clear plastic partition, Katniss barely recognized her.
Lillian's face was ashen. Her eyes were swollen and raw, as though she'd cried through the entire night. Her hair clung to her face in tangled clumps. She looked like something vital had been drained out of her.
The instant Katniss sat down, Lillian lunged at the partition. Her palms slammed against the plastic with a dull thud.
"Katniss!"
Her voice was wrecked, cracking with sobs.
"They found my mom. They're threatening to hurt my mom!"
Katniss's stomach dropped. She didn't speak right away.
Lillian shook her head over and over, tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the counter in front of her.
She sucked in several ragged breaths, fighting to steady herself, then spoke in a broken, halting voice.
"I got a letter today. They took photos of my mom. Said if I talk, next time it won't just be a photo..."
"Where's the letter?"
"They took it."
Lillian wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"Said they'd file it as evidence. But it's useless—you can't trace a letter like that. Whoever sent it knew they wouldn't get caught."
Katniss watched her fall apart, and something complicated twisted inside her chest.
Lillian had framed her. Nearly destroyed everything she had.
But right now, watching her come undone with terror over her mother's safety, Katniss found she couldn't summon the hatred.
"What do you want me to do?"
Lillian raised her head, eyes blurred with tears. "I'm going to tell you everything."
She sniffled, her voice still shaking but clearer than before.
"It's Leon. From the very beginning, it's been Leon. I lied when I met with you the other day. I did meet with him."
Katniss didn't interrupt. She listened.
"He found me last fall."
Lillian closed her eyes, as though reliving a nightmare.
"I'd fled the country by then. He gave me a large sum of money, set me up with a new identity and background, and brought me back."
"What was his goal?"
"To drive a wedge between you and Cedric."
Lillian opened her eyes and looked straight at Katniss.
"He said as long as cracks appeared between you two, he'd have his opening to seize power. He said Cedric was too young, too emotional, didn't deserve that seat. He said the York Group would be his sooner or later."
Katniss's fingers tightened around the phone receiver.
"The listening device?"
"Leon had Jason give it to me."
Lillian closed her eyes again.
"Jason was his man. Always was. Jason's termination years ago—that was Leon's plan all along. A deliberate sacrifice. He positioned Jason outside the company to do his dirty work. Jason had been doing it ever since."
"Then why is Jason dead?"
Lillian's face went a shade paler.
"Before he died, Jason met with Leon one last time. My guess is that Jason had outlived his usefulness."
She couldn't go on. Her head dropped, her shoulders shaking violently.
Katniss was quiet for a long time.
Every scattered piece finally clicked into place.
Leon had framed Jason, kicked him out of the York Group, then secretly turned him into a pawn. Jason contacted Lillian on Leon's behalf, planted the listening device—the first move in tearing Cedric and Katniss apart.
Once Jason's job was done, he was silenced. Then Leon forged the emails, ambushed her at the board meeting, and pushed her out of the picture.
"Lillian." Katniss's voice was steady. "Would you say all of this in court?"
Lillian looked up. Fear flickered in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resolve. "You keep my mom safe, and I'll say every word."
"You have my word."
---
Outside the detention center, Katniss stood by the entrance and pulled out her phone. She dialed Cedric's number.
Two rings. He picked up.
"Hello?"
A trace of surprise in his voice—probably because she hadn't reached out to him in days.
"Are you free right now?"
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"Let's meet." Katniss paused. "I have something to tell you."
Two seconds of silence. "Where?"
"The coffee shop near the villa. One hour."
She hung up, flagged down a cab, and slid into the back seat, giving the driver the address.
As the car pulled away, she leaned back against the seat and watched the city blur past the rain-streaked window. A strange calm settled over her.
The storm was coming. And she knew she couldn't weather it alone.
---
The private room at the coffee shop was small—just a wooden table and two chairs.
The window was half open, but the room was quiet.
When Katniss arrived, Cedric was already there. He sat by the window, two fresh cups of coffee on the table in front of him. When she walked in, he stood.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them spoke.