Chapter 96 The Inside Man
It was thirty-four days until the deadline.
Ariella couldn’t sleep. She lay in the small bedroom above the bakery, watching Elena breathe in the crib beside her, counting each breath she inhaled like a prayer.
Aiden was at the kitchen table. He had been there for six hours, with his Laptop open and Files spread everywhere.
“I found something,” he said. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she looked hopefully at the screen.
“Victoria’s lawyers have visited her forty-three times in three months. That’s…”
“A lot,” Ariella finished. “More than necessary for trial prep.”
“Exactly. And look at the timing.” He pulled up a calendar. “Every visit corresponds with something happening to us. Her lawyer visited on Tuesday and on Wednesday our car had a brake failure…investigated as mechanical error. Another visit was on Friday and on Saturday, Claire got food poisoning…the doctors said she'd consumed bad shellfish. Another visit…”
“Our apartment was broken into but nothing’s stolen,” Ariella realized. “We thought it was random…”
“It wasn’t. She’s been orchestrating everything through lawyer visits.” Aiden pulled up more data. “The lawyers have attorney-client privilege. Guards can’t monitor their conversations and can’t search their materials either. It’s the perfect communication channel.”
“So we get the lawyers investigated…”
“On what grounds? They’re doing their job. Defending a client. Unless we can prove they’re passing criminal instructions…”
“Can we? Prove it?”
Aiden hesitated. “Maybe. If we had surveillance inside the visiting room.”
“Which we don’t have access to…”
“But Marcus might.”
Marcus is still recovering from his gunshot wound. Still technically FBI, though on medical leave.
Ariella called him at 3 AM. He answered on the first ring.
“Tell me you found something,” he said. No preamble.
She explained Aiden’s theory.
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. “Attorney-client meetings are protected. Even I can’t get surveillance without a warrant. And no judge will issue one without probable cause…”
“We just gave you probable cause. The correlation between visits and incidents…”
“Is circumstantial. Coincidence in the eyes of the law.” He paused. “But there might be another way.”
“What way?”
“Illegal. Unethical. Career-ending if we’re caught.”
“I’m listening.”
Day 85. Thirty-two days until the deadline.
Marcus showed up at the bakery with a man Ariella had never met.
Forties. Nondescript. The kind of person you’d never remember seeing.
“This is David Park,” Marcus said. “He’s…”
“No names,” David interrupted. “No details. You never met me. This conversation never happened.”
“He’s a specialist,” Marcus continued. “In surveillance. The unofficial kind.”
“You mean illegal wiretapping,” Ariella said.
“I mean I can get you audio of those lawyer meetings. But if anyone asks how you got it, you’ll go to prison and I’ll disappear.” David pulled out a device the size of a quarter. “This goes in the visiting room, it's impossible to detect and it broadcasts to a secure server. You’ll hear everything Victoria says to her lawyers.”
“How do we get it into the visiting room?”
“You don’t, I will. I have access to the facility.” His smile was unsettling. “Let’s just say the FBI isn’t the only agency interested in Victoria Frost.”
“CIA?” Aiden guessed.
“No names,” David repeated. “But yes. The network Victoria ran? It had international implications, offshore accounts, Foreign governments compromised. My employers want to know who else is involved and you want to protect your daughter so our interests align.”
“And the recording will hold up in court?”
“Absolutely not. It’s inadmissible. Fruit of the poisonous tree. But…” David leaned forward. “It’ll tell you what she’s planning, who her inside people are, what the contingency actually involves and then you can figure out how to stop it legally.”
Ariella looked at Aiden. This was the line. The point where they crossed from victims defending themselves to criminals breaking federal law.
“Do it,” Aiden said.
Day 83. Thirty days until the deadline.
The audio came through at 2 AM.
Ariella and Aiden sat in the dark bakery, headphones on, and listening to Victoria’s latest lawyer meeting.
“…the Frost girl is pregnant again,” Victoria was saying. “Make sure Dr. Chen knows. I want updates on her appointments.”
“Already done,” the lawyer replied. It was a Male voice, smooth, and professional. “Dr. Chen confirms Ariella is twelve weeks along and will be Due in October.”
“Good. That’s additional leverage if we need it.”
“About the contingency, The timeline is tight. Are you sure Day 60…”
“Is perfect. Elena’s birthday is symbolic, The day she came into the world is the day they’ll lose her. Poetic.” Victoria’s voice turned cold. “Have you confirmed the asset is in position?”
“Yes. They’ve been in place for six weeks. Completely trusted. Access to the child is…unrestricted.”
Ariella’s blood froze.
“Excellent. And the delivery mechanism?”
“As discussed. Untraceable. Symptoms will present as natural causes. SIDS, most likely. No investigation. Just…tragedy.”
“SIDS,” Victoria repeated, satisfied. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. How unfortunate. How very, very unfortunate for the Frosts.”
“And if they recant before Day 60?”
“They won’t. They’re too stubborn, too principled, They’ll keep investigating, keep searching for the asset, and they’ll never find them because they’re looking in the wrong places.” Victoria laughed. “By the time they realize who it is, it’ll be too late.”
The recording ended.
Ariella ripped off her headphones, ran to the bathroom and vomited.