Chapter 83 Death Threats
The FBI had assigned them a media liaison. A woman named Patricia who knocked on the door at 7 AM with coffee and a tablet full of headlines.
“Don’t read the comments,” she advised. “Ever. But you should know what’s being said. The narrative is forming fast. We need to get ahead of it.”
“What narrative?” Aiden asked.
“Right now? You’re heroes, brave young parents who exposed corruption. But Victoria’s lawyers are already spinning a counter-narrative. That you fabricated evidence. That Richard embezzled and you’re covering it up by blaming his sister. That this is a family power struggle disguised as justice.”
“That’s insane…”
“That’s media. By tomorrow there’ll be conspiracy theories. By next week there’ll be documentaries. You need to decide how you want to handle this. Press conference? Exclusive interview? Complete silence?”
Ariella looked at Aiden. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to disappear. Take you and Elena somewhere nobody knows our names. Live quietly. Let someone else fight this.”
“But?”
“But that’s not an option. Because Victoria’s lawyers will use our silence against us. And Frost Industries needs leadership. And there are thousands of employees whose jobs depend on stability.” He rubbed his face. “I have to go back. Take over as CEO. Clean up the mess.”
“You’re eighteen.”
“Nineteen in two weeks. And I own controlling shares. The board can’t stop me.”
Patricia nodded approvingly. “Smart. Show strength. Show leadership. The market responds well to decisive action.”
“I don’t care about the market,” Aiden said. “I care about doing the right thing. Which means prosecuting everyone who helped Victoria. Even if they’re powerful. Even if it destroys business relationships.”
“That could tank the company…”
“Then it tanks. I’m not protecting criminals to save stock prices.”
Patricia looked at Ariella. “And you? What’s your role in this?”
“I don’t have one. I’m not a Frost, not really. I was just…” She stopped.
“You were the key to everything,” Patricia said. “The outside perspective, the moral compass, the person who convinced Aiden to fight instead of run. The public loves that story. Young mother, working-class background, standing up to billionaire corruption.”
“I’m not a symbol.”
“You are now. Like it or not.” Patricia pulled up polling data. “Seventy-three percent of Americans view you favorably. Eighty-two percent think Victoria should get the death penalty. Sixty-one percent think Frost Industries should be dissolved. These numbers matter. They’ll impact the trial, the sentencing, the civil suits.”
Ariella felt sick. “People are treating this like entertainment.”
“People are treating this like justice. After decades of billionaires getting away with everything, they finally get to watch one go down, They want blood. Your job is to make sure they get the right blood.”
At noon, Marcus, now Special Agent Chen arrived with updates.
“Victoria’s not talking, Her lawyers have her locked down tight. But we’re getting cooperation from lower-level players. So far we’ve connected her to seventeen murders over twenty-three years. Including Catherine Frost, Ethan Hayes, and Sophia Winters.”
“Seventeen,” Ariella repeated numbly.
“Accountants who asked questions, Journalists who dug too deep, A congressional aide who was investigating financial crimes, Victoria was meticulous about eliminating threats.”
“What about my father?” Aiden asked quietly. “Was he…did he know? About the murders?”
Marcus hesitated. “We think he suspected. But we have no evidence he ordered any killings. Richard’s crimes were financial, Victoria’s were…everything else.”
“That doesn’t make him innocent.”
“No. But it makes him less guilty than his sister.”
Small comfort.
“What about Winters?” Ariella asked. “James Winters. Is he…”
“Cooperating? Fully. He’s giving us names, dates, and transaction records. In exchange, the DA is considering reducing his sentence from thirty years to fifteen with the possibility of parole.”
“That’s not justice…”
“That’s pragmatism. We need his testimony to convict Victoria’s network. Without it, half of them walk.” Marcus met her eyes. “I know it’s not fair, but fair doesn’t always win in court. Sometimes you take the deal that gets the most bad guys locked up.”
Ariella wanted to argue but she was too tired.
Elena started crying, obviously teething again. Ariella picked her up, rocked her, while trying to find some normalcy in the chaos.
“There’s something else,” Marcus said carefully. “Claire. Your mother, she’s been getting death threats.”
Ariella’s blood went cold. “What?”
“Victoria’s supporters, Conspiracy theorists who think this is all fabricated. They’re targeting everyone connected to you. Your mother. Your old coworkers from the bakery. Even…” He paused. “Even Ethan’s grave was vandalized last night.”
“No.” Ariella’s voice broke. “No, they can’t…they can’t do that to Ethan…”
“We have protection for your mother. And we’re increasing security at the cemetery. But you need to prepare for this to get worse before it gets better. Victoria has money, Lawyers, and Resources. She’s going to fight dirty.”
“Let her,” Aiden said. His voice had gone cold and Hard. “We’ll fight dirtier.”