UNEXPECTED ALLY

UNEXPECTED ALLY
Hayden's Pov

The call came from a number I had not seen in over a year. My grandmother Beatrice. Elliot's mother. The woman who enabled his worst behaviours and treated Michelle like garbage.

I almost did not answer. But curiosity got the better of me.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hayden," Beatrice said. Her voice sounded old and tired. "I know you probably don't want to talk to me but I need to speak with you. It's important."

"What do you want?" I asked. I kept my voice cold.

"I want to help you," Beatrice said. "I know what you're doing. The story about Victor Kane. The files you released. I want to help you take him down."

I almost laughed. "Why would I believe that? You spent years protecting my father. Why would you suddenly want to help expose his friends?"

"Because Victor Kane threatened me," Beatrice said. "Two days ago. He sent men to my house. They said if I talked to anyone about Elliot or the files they would kill me."

"And?" I said. "That's what you get for protecting criminals."

“I know,” Beatrice said. Her voice cracked. “I know I was wrong. I know I enabled Elliot’s behavior. I know I hurt people by staying silent. But Hayden, I’m scared. Victor Kane is coming after everyone connected to your father. Including me.”

The admission seemed to hollow her out. For the first time, she didn’t sound defensive or calculating—just human. Afraid.

Hayden’s jaw tightened at the mention of his father, old wounds flickering behind his eyes. “You made choices,” he said quietly. Not cruel. Not forgiving either. Just true.

Beatrice nodded, tears gathering. “I can’t undo them. But I can testify. I can confirm everything.”

Silence stretched between us, heavy with history and consequence.

This wasn’t redemption. Not yet. But it was a line being drawn—and once crossed, there would be no stepping back.

"You should go to the police," I said.

"I can't," Beatrice said. "I'm in those files too. Not for the same things as Elliot but I knew what was happening and I said nothing. If I go to the police I could go to prison."

"Maybe you should," I said. "Maybe that's what you deserve."

Beatrice was quiet for a second. "Maybe it is. But before that happens I want to help you stop Victor Kane. I want to do one good thing before I pay for all the bad things I've done."

"What could you possibly do to help?" I asked.

"I have information," Beatrice said. "Things Elliot told me before he died. Things about Victor Kane that aren't in the files."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Not over the phone," Beatrice said. "Can we meet? Somewhere public? I'll tell you everything I know."

I looked at Michelle, who was watching me with questions in her eyes. I covered the phone.

Her expression sharpened instantly—no panic, just focus. She had already read enough of my face to know this wasn’t a casual call. “What is it?” she mouthed.

“Beatrice,” I whispered. “She wants to flip. She’s scared. Says Victor’s coming after everyone tied to Hayden’s father.”

Michelle exhaled slowly, processing. Not surprise—calculation. “Is she solid?” she asked under her breath.

I glanced back at the phone, where I could still hear Beatrice’s uneven breathing on the other end.

“That,” I said quietly, “is the question.”

"It's Beatrice," I whispered. "She says she wants to help us take down Victor Kane."

Michelle's eyes went wide. "Do you believe her?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But we need all the help we can get."

I went back to the phone. "Fine. We'll meet. But if this is a trap you'll regret it."

"It's not a trap," Beatrice said. "I promise."

We agreed to meet at a diner in a small town halfway between where she lived and where we were hiding. I told her to come alone and to make sure nobody followed her.

The next morning I left early. Michelle wanted to come but I told her to stay with the twins. If this was a trap I did not want all of us walking into it.

The diner was old and mostly empty when I got there. Beatrice was already sitting in a booth in the back. She looked older than I remembered. Her hair was more gray. Her face had more wrinkles.

"Hayden," she said when I sat down. "Thank you for coming."

"Just tell me what you know," I said. "I don't have time for small talk."

Beatrice nodded. “Victor Kane and Elliot met in 1995. They became business partners almost immediately. But their relationship was more than business. Victor needed Elliot to help him hide illegal money. And Elliot needed Victor’s connections to get access to powerful people.”

She spoke slowly now, like someone stepping carefully through a minefield of memory. “They covered for each other. Built shell companies. Moved money through charities and development projects. If one of them was questioned, the other made the problem disappear.”

Hayden went very still. Not shocked—he had suspected as much—but hearing it confirmed was something else.

Beatrice swallowed. “It wasn’t just greed. It was leverage. They collected secrets. On donors… On politicians… On anyone who got too close.”

The room felt colder. This wasn’t just corruption. It was architecture—built deliberately, patiently, over decades.

"I already know all this," I said. "It's in the files."

"What's not in the files is how deep it goes," Beatrice said. "Elliot told me that Victor Kane has been bribing government officials for decades. FBI agents, judges, senators. He has a whole network of people on his payroll."

"Names," I said. "I need names."

Beatrice pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and slid it across the table. "These are the people Elliot mentioned to me. I can't guarantee all of them are still working for Victor but it's a start."

I looked at the list. There were maybe twenty names on it. Some I recognized from the files. Others were new.

"How do you know these are accurate?" I asked.

"Because Elliot kept records of everything," Beatrice said. "He was paranoid about Victor turning on him so he documented every conversation they had. Every deal they made. He told me about it because he wanted someone to know the truth if something happened to him."

"Why didn't you go to the police after he died?" I asked.

"Because I was scared," Beatrice admitted. "And because I didn't want people to know I was complicit. I knew what Elliot was doing for years and I said nothing. I even helped him sometimes."

"Helped him how?" I asked.

Beatrice looked down at her hands. “I introduced him to young girls. Friends of friends. Daughters of people I knew. I told them Elliot could help with their careers or their education. I made it easier for him to hurt them.”

The confession didn’t come out in a rush. It came quietly. Deliberately. Each word placed like something fragile and terrible.

No one moved. The air seemed to thin.

Hayden’s face drained of color, something raw flashing across it—anger, grief, disbelief tangled together. Michelle’s hand slowly curled into a fist on the table.

Beatrice’s shoulders shook, but she didn’t look up. “I told myself I didn’t know,” she whispered. “Not at first. And then… I did. And I stayed.”

There it was. Not just complicity—but choice. And once spoken aloud, it could never be taken back.

I felt sick. "You did that? You knowingly sent girls to my father?"

"Yes," Beatrice said. Tears ran down her face. "I did. And I will never forgive myself for it. But Hayden I want to make it right. I want to help you stop Victor Kane and everyone else involved."

"Making it right means going to prison," I said. "Are you ready for that?"

"Yes," Beatrice said. "Once Victor Kane is arrested I'll turn myself in. I'll testify against everyone. I'll tell the truth about everything I know."

I did not know if I believed her. This woman had lied and manipulated for years. Why should I trust her now?

"There's more," Beatrice said. "Victor Kane has been planning to leave the country. He has accounts set up in countries without extradition treaties. If he gets away he'll never face justice."

"When is he planning to leave?" I asked.

"Soon," Beatrice said. "Within the week. Maybe sooner now that the story broke. He's panicking. Making mistakes. That's why he threatened me. He's trying to tie up loose ends before he runs."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"Because his assistant called me yesterday," Beatrice said. "She's an old friend of mine. She told me Victor has been liquidating assets and moving money. All the signs that he's getting ready to disappear."