Chapter 12 - Sebastian's Last Bargain
Sebastian escaped.
That fact poisoned what should have felt like victory.
Brendan was in federal custody.
The ledger had exposed millions in stolen funds, bribery, extortion, and murder payments.
Deputy Commissioner Patrick Doyle was arrested before sunset.
Several officers were suspended.
Three shell companies collapsed overnight.
But Sebastian Vale disappeared into the storm.
For three days no one saw him.
Roman improved each morning.
Half a bowl.
Then a full bowl.
Then, on the fourth day, he stole bacon directly from Jared's plate.
Jared stared.
Willa laughed so hard she nearly choked.
“You think that's funny?”
“Very.”
“That was my breakfast.”
Roman swallowed without remorse.
“He's healing.”
“He's a criminal.”
“You'd know.”
Jared gave her a long look.
Willa's smile faded.
They hadn't spoken about what came next.
She had been staying in the penthouse because Brendan compromised her apartment.
Jared had given her a private guest suite, a key, unrestricted elevator access, and very deliberately never entered without permission.
Every boundary she stated, he followed.
That mattered more than expensive protection ever could.
But this still wasn't her life.
She had a job.
Rent.
A tiny apartment.
A normal world waiting somewhere beneath all this.
“You can stop paying the clinic now,” she said.
“I wasn't paying the clinic.”
Willa frowned.
“Miles said—”
“I bought the building.”
She stared.
“You what?”
“The landlord was selling.”
“You bought my workplace?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The roof leaks.”
“That is not a reason to buy a building!”
“It is if I dislike leaks.”
Willa stood.
“You cannot solve every problem with money.”
“I know.”
“You really don't.”
Jared stood too.
“I didn't buy it for you.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Then why?”
“For the animals.”
“Jared.”
“And the employees.”
“Jared.”
“And possibly because the owner planned to replace it with luxury apartments.”
She stopped.
“That actually true?”
“Yes.”
Her anger became inconveniently confused.
“You're impossible.”
“I've been told.”
“By your wife?”
A shadow crossed his face.
Then, unexpectedly:
“Constantly.”
Willa smiled.
The phone rang.
Miles answered.
His expression changed.
“It's him.”
Jared held out his hand.
Speaker.
Sebastian's voice filled the room.
“Jared.”
“Where are you?”
“Still impatient.”
“What do you want?”
“The ledger.”
“Federal government has copies.”
“Not what I mean.”
Willa frowned.
Sebastian continued.
“Dominic kept a second book.”
Jared looked toward Miles.
“We found one.”
“You found financial crimes.”
Sebastian's voice lowered.
“The second book contains names.”
“What names?”
“Politicians. Judges. Businessmen. Men your father protected.”
Jared's expression darkened.
“And?”
“If federal investigators find it, your entire organization burns.”
“Maybe it should.”
Silence.
Sebastian hadn't expected that.
Willa watched Jared.
He continued.
“My father built something rotten.”
Miles looked surprised.
“So did you.”
Jared's voice remained calm.
“I spent years pretending I could clean it without tearing down the walls.”
Sebastian laughed.
“You'll lose everything.”
“Then I lose it.”
The line went quiet.
Sebastian finally said:
“You've changed.”
Jared looked at Willa.
“No.”
His voice softened.
“I've stopped lying to myself.”
Sebastian hung up.
Miles exhaled.
“That will make him desperate.”
“He already is.”
Willa's phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Her stomach dropped.
Maria Moretti.
Tied to a chair.
A message followed.
THE SECOND LEDGER FOR ELENA'S SISTER.
COME WITHOUT FEDERAL AGENTS.
Willa showed Jared.
His face hardened.
“Absolutely not.”
“You don't know where the second ledger is.”
“No.”
“I think I do.”
Everyone looked at her.
Rebecca's notebook contained a final phrase she'd never understood.
THE WOMAN WHO SAVED YOU KEEPS THE NAMES.
Willa had assumed it meant Elena.
Now she realized.
Rebecca was talking to Elena.
The woman who saved Elena was Rebecca.
“She keeps the names,” Willa whispered.
Jared frowned.
“Your mother?”
Willa nodded.
“There's another hiding place.”
“Where?”
She remembered the last gift her mother gave her before dying.
A music box.
Cheap.
Wooden.
Broken years later during one of Brendan's rages.
Willa had kept the pieces.
At her apartment.
Her compromised apartment.
Jared looked at her face.
“What?”
“The second ledger is in my home.”
Miles grabbed his coat.
Jared shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“That's exactly where Sebastian wants us.”
Willa looked toward Roman.
The Mastiff was staring at her bedroom door.
Alert.
Listening.
Then the lights went out.
Every light in the penthouse.
Emergency power failed too.
Miles whispered:
“That's impossible.”
A single red laser dot appeared on Jared's chest.
Willa screamed.
Roman launched forward.
The window cracked.
May you like
A shot fired.
And Jared dropped.
