Chapter 233
She walked out of the office, leaving the chaos behind her.
Outside, the air was crisp. Skye took a deep breath.
A black van pulled up. The doors slid open.
It wasn’t Julian. It wasn’t Alistair.
It was men in FBI windbreakers.
“Skye Sterling?” the lead agent asked.
Skye’s heart stopped.
“Yes?”
“You are detained for questioning regarding securities fraud, insider trading, and conspiracy to commit embezzlement.”
They didn’t wait for an answer. They grabbed her arms and spun her around.
Skye felt the cold steel of handcuffs click onto her wrists.
“You have the right to remain silent.”
Skye looked across the street. A black sedan was parked there. The window rolled down just an inch.
She saw a face.
Silas Vane. Liam’s fixer.
He was watching. He smiled—a shark-like grin. He held up a phone, likely recording the arrest to leak to the press. Liam had played his trump card. The forged documents had done their work.
Skye was shoved into the back of the van. The doors slammed shut, plunging her into darkness.
The holding cell at the Federal Detention Center was cold, smelling of bleach and despair. Skye sat on the metal bench, her white suit now wrinkled and out of place.
She had been processed. Fingerprinted. A mug shot taken. Her jewelry—including the sapphire ring Alistair had given her—was in a plastic bag somewhere.
She stared at the concrete wall. She didn’t cry. She was too angry to cry.
Forged signatures. Fake witnesses.
The door buzzed and opened. A guard stepped in.
“Lawyer’s here,” the guard grunted.
і𝖿 yо𝗎 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗍𝗁𝗂ѕ 𝘯o𝘃e𝘭 𝗈𝘯 a𝗇𝘆 𝘴it𝘦 o𝘵𝘩е𝗿 𝘁𝘩а𝘯 𝗯𝗲𝘭𝗇o𝘃е𝗅ѕ.𝗰𝗈m 𝘪𝗍 𝗶s 𝗮 сор𝗒
Skye stood. “I didn’t call a lawyer.”
She was led to a small meeting room. A man sat at the table.
It wasn’t Julian’s lawyer. It wasn’t Alistair’s lawyer.
It was Silas Vane.
Skye stopped in the doorway. “Get out.”
Silas smiled. “Ms. Sterling. Please, sit. I’m here with an offer.”
“I don’t make deals with the devil,” Skye said.
“You’re looking at twenty years, Skye,” Silas said, opening a file. “Your father’s signature is on every document. We have a witness prepared to testify that you coerced him.”
“My father would never testify against me,” Skye said.
“He doesn’t have to,” Silas countered. “We have sworn affidavits. And a very convincing paper trail.”
“What do you want?” Skye asked.
“Liam wants to help,” Silas said. “He’s willing to ‘discover’ new evidence that exonerates you. A rogue employee, perhaps. Someone else to take the fall for the embezzlement.”
“And in exchange?”
“You drop the investigation into the construction accident,” Silas said. “You publicly state that the materials were approved by Sterling Corp before the split. You take the blame for the building collapse, and Liam saves you from prison.”