Chapter 107 The Fall
Christian’s POV
Pain exploded in my chest. I clutched at my shirt, gasping, my other hand scrambling for my phone on the nightstand. The screen was already lit up with a lot of notifications flooding in, hundreds of them, the phone was vibrating so hard it nearly fell off the edge.
My vision blurred. Sweat poured down my face.
What the fuck was happening?
I grabbed the phone with shaking hands and stared at the screen. It was filled with news alerts. Every single one of them.
ASHFORD HEIR LINKED TO INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING RING
FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ASHFORD SHIPPING FACILITIES
CHRISTIAN ASHFORD ACCUSED OF PURCHASING MINORS
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
I scrolled frantically. Every major outlet. CNN. Fox. BBC. The New York Times. Wall Street Journal.
My face was everywhere.Photos from charity galas. Society events. Me in my tailored suits, smiling at cameras, shaking hands with politicians and businessmen.
And beneath every photo: Monster. Predator. Criminal.
“No!” I threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and shattered.
How? How did they find out?
I’d been so careful. And I kept everything separate from my public life. I never left a trail. Someone fucking talked, but that isn’t possible. Secrecy has always been our bedrock.
I stumbled out of bed, my legs barely holding me. My chest still hurt. Everything hurts.
I grabbed my laptop from the desk. Opened it with trembling fingers.
My email was flooded. Everyone was demanding answers, threatening to cut ties, distancing themselves as fast as they could type.
My phone…the one I kept hidden in my desk drawer…started ringing.
I yanked it out. Father’s number.
“Answer it,” I muttered. “Just answer it.”
I pressed accept.
“CHRISTIAN!” My father’s voice was pure rage. “What the hell did you do?!”
“I didn’t…”
“Federal agents are at the shipping yards! They’re seizing everything! They have warrants, Christian! They have fucking warrants with your name on them!”
“I don’t know how they…”
“You stupid, arrogant piece of shit!” He was screaming now. Actually screaming. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? To this family? To our name? To everything we’ve built?”
“I was careful! I never…”
“They have testimony! They have witnesses! They have you on record purchasing…” His voice cut off. Like he couldn’t even say it.
My stomach dropped.Witnesses. Who the fuck witnessed anything?
“Fix this,” Father snarled. “I don’t care how. You fix this or you’re on your own. Do you understand me? You’re dead to this family.”
The line went dead.I stared at the phone in my hand.Dead to the family.
I was going to be sick.
I ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. Once. Twice. Until there was nothing left but bile and the taste of copper.
When I could finally stand, I looked at myself in the mirror.
My face was pale. Sweaty. My eyes were wild.I looked exactly like what they were calling me.A monster.
“No,” I said to my reflection. “No. I’m not going down for this.”
I splashed water on my face. Changed into clothes. Grabbed my wallet and keys.
My phone rang again. But it was a different number this time. Mr Martinez.Aria’s father.
I answered.
“Mr. Christian…” His voice was high-pitched. He sounded panicked. “Mr. Christian, I saw the news. I…what do we do? This is going to drag my family down! Everyone will…”
“You knew the risks when you accepted my help,” I snapped.
“I didn’t know you were buying children!” He was nearly hyperventilating. “I thought it was just business! I thought…”
“Shut up.” I was already moving through my apartment, grabbing documents, shoving things into a bag. “Just shut the fuck up.”
“But my family…”
“I don’t care about your family!” I screamed into the phone. “You took my money! You promised me your daughter as collateral! You made a deal!”
“I didn’t know what you were!”
“You didn’t want to know! You just wanted the money to disappear and your debts cleared!” I threw my laptop into the bag. “You’re just a selfish prick who sold his daughter to save himself!”
“You can’t…”
I hung up.My hands were shaking so badly I could barely zip the bag.I needed to get out. Out of the city. Out of the country.
I had accounts overseas. Contacts who could hide me at least for a while until I cleared this mess. I just needed to get to the airport.
I grabbed my keys and ran for the door. The blasted Martinez was standing in my hallway.
He looked terrible…unshaven, eyes red, wringing his hands like a pathetic child.
“Mr. Christian, please. We need to figure this out together. We need…”
“Get out of my way.”
“But…”
I shoved past him, nearly knocking him over. He grabbed at my sleeve.
“Please! Don’t leave me to deal with this alone! They’ll come for me too! They’ll eat I and my family alive”
“That’s your problem!” I yanked my arm free and ran for the elevator.
Behind me, Ricardo was shouting. Pleading. I didn’t care.
The elevator doors opened. I threw myself inside and jabbed the garage button.
As the doors closed, I saw Ricardo collapse against the wall, his face in his hands.
The elevator descended and I pulled out my phone and called my assistant.
She answered immediately. “Mr. Christian, I…”
“Arrange a private flight out of the country. Now.”
“Sir, I don’t think…”
“I didn’t ask you to think! Just do it! Have it ready in one hour or you’re fired!”
“Where should I…”
“I don’t care! Just somewhere without extradition! Move!”
I hung up and stumbled out into the garage.
I walked into my car. I chose the fastest porch car.I threw my bag in the passenger seat and started the engine. The sound was loud in the concrete space.
I peeled out, my tires screeching. I was going fast towards the airport when I noticed a black tinted car coming straight at me.
“What the…”