Chapter 17 - The Secret Recording
Chloe stared at me in stunned silence.
The clinking of silverware and soft jazz music from the country club felt a million miles away.
For a moment, I saw the raw, desperate girl beneath the designer clothes—a girl who had been rejected on national television and would do anything to rewrite that narrative.
"You would leave him?" Chloe asked, her voice losing its mocking edge.
"Just like that?"
"If it means keeping him out of prison, yes," I lied flawlessly, my expression completely stoic.
"I will pack my bags today."
"But I need proof that Richard set him up."
Chloe studied my face, searching for a trap.
But my desperation was entirely real, making my performance perfect.
A slow, triumphant smile spread across her red lips.
She had always viewed life as a transaction.
This made perfect sense to her.
"Richard didn't just use his IT guy," Chloe whispered, leaning closer across the table.
"He used my father’s offshore accounts to bounce the money back into Carter’s name."
"My father has the ledger."
"He keeps it on a private server in his home office."
"It proves Richard orchestrated the entire transfer."
My heart pounded violently against my ribs, but I forced myself to remain perfectly still.
"Can you get it?" I asked.
Chloe let out a soft laugh.
"Of course I can."
"I have all of my father's passwords."
"But you have to swear to me, Valerie."
"You disappear forever."
"I swear it," I said, looking her dead in the eyes.
"Get me the ledger, and you get Carter."
Chloe nodded, standing up from the table.
"I will email the encrypted file to Marcus within the hour."
"If you're not on a plane by midnight, I will personally see to it that Carter rots in a cell."
She turned and walked away, her designer heels clicking rhythmically against the stone patio.
I stood there for a moment, letting out a long, trembling breath.
Then, I reached into the deep pocket of my jacket.
I pulled out my phone.
The screen was dark, but the small red circle in the center was still blinking.
Recording in progress: 14 minutes, 32 seconds.
I hit stop and saved the audio file to three different cloud servers.
Chloe Vance was arrogant.
She believed everyone could be bought because she could be bought.
She hadn't realized that love wasn't a transaction for me.
Love was a war, and I had just captured the enemy’s general.
I walked back to my car, my hands shaking as I dialed Marcus’s number.
"Marcus," I said the second he answered.
"Valerie, where are you?" he asked frantically.
"I told you to stay at the house!"
"I have it," I interrupted him.
"I have Chloe on tape confessing that Arthur Vance and Richard framed Carter."
"And she’s emailing you the actual offshore ledgers to prove it."
Complete silence on the other end of the line.
"Valerie..." Marcus breathed, sounding utterly bewildered.
"How in God's name did you pull that off?"
"I played their game," I said, starting the car engine.
"I need you to prepare a motion for the judge."
May you like
"We are going to court tomorrow morning."
"And we are bringing the empire down."
