Chapter 214 Bleeding Out On Live Television
"I do not know yet," I admitted. The frustration bit into my ribs. "Ricardo is tearing the dark web apart, but the encryption is flawless. Julian covered his tracks."
Tristan reached out. He traced the line of my collarbone with his thumb. The touch grounded me. The fierce, protective fire in his gray eyes promised violence to anyone who threatened my peace.
"We have three days until the shareholder meeting," Tristan stated. "If we do not find the ledger, Julian wins the vote. He takes everything."
"He will not take you," I said. I captured his hand. I pressed my palm against his battered knuckles. "He will not take Elias. I survived the slums with nothing but the clothes on my back. If I lose the Johnston Group, I will rebuild it. But I will not let him win."
Tristan leaned closer. His lips brushed my forehead. A slow, lingering kiss that promised absolute loyalty.
"We find the ledger," Tristan vowed. "I will tear the city apart brick by brick if I have to."
The secure line in the war room chimed.
The sound echoed down the hallway. It was not a standard ringtone. It was the designated chime for the federal prison relay.
I froze. My heart hammered against my ribs.
"Thomas?" Tristan asked. His body went rigid. The warlord returned.
"Thomas does not call," I said. I stood up from the sofa. "He likes an audience. He forces people to visit his cage."
I walked down the hall. Tristan followed a step behind me. We entered the glass-walled war room. The monitors remained dark, save for a single blinking light on the secure console. The caller ID displayed the federal supermax routing number.
I pressed the speaker button.
"Minerva," a voice rasped through the connection.
It was not Thomas.
The voice sounded thin. It lacked the haughty, polished arrogance of the elite class. It sounded like cracked glass and cold concrete.
"Celeste," I said.
My half-sister sat in a solitary confinement cell. She tried to assassinate me in the boardroom months ago. She allied with Benedict Holloway to steal the company, and she failed. I left her in a cage to rot.
"They took my recreation time," Celeste whispered. The line crackled. "They took my phone privileges. But I bribed a guard. I have two minutes."
"Why are you calling me?" I demanded. The ice returned to my veins. I felt no pity for the woman who hunted my child.
"Julian visited Thomas," Celeste said. She coughed. The sound was wet and painful. "I hear things. The guards talk. Julian took the power of attorney. He took the money."
"Tell me something I do not know, Celeste. You have one minute."
"I know how to stop him," she said.
The air left my lungs. I looked at Tristan. His jaw locked tight. He shook his head, a silent warning. Celeste was a snake. She lied to survive.
"You have nothing," I told her. "You are in solitary. You hold zero leverage."
"I hold the key," Celeste countered. The desperation in her voice spiked. "Before Julian went public, he needed someone to set up the shell companies. He needed someone who knew Thomas's old banking passwords. He needed family."
"He used you," I realized.
"I set up the offshore relays," Celeste confessed. "I moved the dark money to the syndicate. I kept the digital ledger on a hidden drive. I hid it before the marshals arrested me."
She possessed the mechanism. She held the final piece of the trap.
"Where is the drive?" I asked.
"I will give you the location," Celeste promised. Her breathing turned shallow. "I will give you the ledger. You can prove Julian funded a criminal syndicate. You can put him in a cell next to mine."
"What do you want?" I asked. I knew the rules of the dirt. Nothing came free.
"A transfer," Celeste begged. The pride shattered. Only raw terror remained. "Julian knows I set up the accounts. He knows I can ruin him. He paid the guards in my cell block. They are trying to kill me, Minerva. They put glass in my food. They cut the heat in my cell. I will not survive the week."
She sobbed. The sound grated against the speaker.
"Get me out of this supermax," Celeste pleaded. "Move me to a minimum-security facility. Protect me from Julian. I will give you the drive."
The line clicked. A mechanical voice announced the end of the prepaid call.
Silence filled the war room.
I stared at the console. The woman who tried to destroy my life just offered me the weapon to save my empire.
"It is a trap," Tristan stated.
"It is a deal," I corrected.
I turned to face my husband. The final battle lines were drawn. The Chairman’s checkmate was set.
"Call the lawyers," I ordered. "We are getting my sister out of solitary.”