Chapter 79 More Threats
Aiden received another text from an Unknown number, with a photo of Elena’s birth certificate, her social security card, and her medical records.
And a message: She’s very precious. Be a shame if something happened.
Ariella grabbed Elena tighter. “We have to run. Leave the city. Leave the country. We have to…”
“We have to fight.” Aiden’s voice was steel. “Because if we run, they win. They get away with murdering my mother, your brother, and Victoria. And someday, when we think we’re safe, they’ll find us anyway.”
“How do we fight someone we can’t even identify?”
“We set a trap.” Aiden pulled up his laptop. “We make them think we’re willing to deal, We arrange a meeting. We get them on record confessing. Then we go to the one person I know we can trust.”
“Who?”
“The FBI agent who helped Marcus with the original case. Agent Sarah Chen. She’s been investigating corruption in financial institutions for fifteen years. If anyone can help us, it’s her.”
“And if she’s compromised too?”
“Then we’re dead anyway. Might as well die fighting.”
His phone rang. An Unknown number again.
This time, a woman’s voice. “Mr. Frost. I believe you have something that belongs to me.”
Not the same person, Someone new. Someone whose voice made Aiden go absolutely still.
“Who is this?” he asked.
“Someone who’s been watching you for a very long time. Someone who knew your mother. Who knows exactly what happened the night she died. And someone who’s very interested in keeping certain secrets buried.”
“What secrets?”
“The kind that would destroy what’s left of the Frost legacy. The kind that would put you and your wife in prison for crimes you didn’t know you committed. The kind that would leave your daughter an orphan. Bring me Victoria’s documents. All of them. Tomorrow at Noon. Grand Central Terminal, information booth. Come alone. Or Elena pays the price.”
The line went dead.
Ariella looked at Aiden. “We’re not actually going.”
“Yes, we are.” His jaw was set. “But not alone. And not unarmed.”
“What are you planning?”
“I’m planning to end this, Once and for all.” He started making calls. “Even if it means burning down everything my father built.”
Outside, somewhere in the Brooklyn night, someone was watching.
Waiting patiently, and the clock was ticking.
At 3 AM, Ariella found Aiden in the brownstone’s dusty study, surrounded by his mother’s old files.
“You should sleep,” she said.
“Can’t.” He held up a folder. “Look at this. My mom was documenting everything. Phone calls. Meetings. She knew my father was dirty. And she knew who else was involved.”
Ariella sat beside him, Elena asleep in a makeshift bassinet they’d created from dresser drawers and blankets. “Who?”
“Everyone.” His hands shook as he showed her the list. “The CFO. The head of legal. Three board members. And…” He stopped.
“What?”
“Marcus’s boss. The senior partner at his firm. Daniel Rothstein.”
Ariella’s stomach dropped. “That’s why Marcus said to trust no one. Even him. Because if his boss is involved…”
“Then anything Marcus knows gets filtered up. Any evidence we gave him. Any strategy we discussed.” Aiden’s face was gray. “We’ve been feeding them our playbook from the beginning.”
“But Marcus helped us. He…”
“Did he? Or did he manage us? Keep us focused on Winters while the real network stayed hidden?” Aiden pulled out another document. “My mom wrote this three days before she died: ‘Daniel visited, he threatened me. Said if I went to the authorities, Aiden would have an accident. Just like the Winters girl.’”
“Sophia,” Ariella breathed. “She knew about Sophia.”
“They’ve been doing this for years. Killing anyone who gets too close. Making it look like accidents or suicides.” He looked at her. “Victoria wasn’t their first cleanup. She won’t be their last.”
Elena stirred. Ariella picked her up automatically, the weight of her daughter grounding her. “So what do we do? We can’t go to the meeting. It’s obviously a trap.”
“We go. But we record everything. And we send it to someone who can’t be compromised.”
“Who?”
Aiden pulled out his phone. Showed her a contact. “Investigative journalist. Won Pulitzer for exposing corporate fraud. My mom had her number in her files. I think she was planning to go to her before she died.”
“Will she help us?”
“Only one way to find out.”
He dialed. It rang four times before a groggy voice answered: “This better be good.”
“Ms. Reeves? My name is Aiden Frost. My mother was Catherine Frost. I think she was going to contact you before she was murdered.”
Silence. Then: “I’m listening.”
Twenty minutes later, they had a plan. At 11:30 AM, Ariella stood in Grand Central Terminal holding a diaper bag and trying not to throw up.
Elena was with a woman from a domestic violence shelter, the only person they could find on four hours notice who wasn’t connected to either family. Aiden had paid her five thousand dollars in cash to keep Elena safe for three hours. No questions asked.
It was the hardest thing Ariella had ever done, handing over her daughter to a stranger. But bringing Elena to a meeting with potential murderers was harder.
Aiden stood twenty feet away, pretending to read a newspaper. He wore a wire, audio and video, hidden in his collar. So did Ariella. Everything streamed live to Jessica Reeves, who was in a van outside with enough equipment to broadcast this to every major news outlet simultaneously if things went wrong.