Chapter 14 - The Empire Jared Let Burn
Sebastian Vale's arrest made national news without using Jared Kensington's name at first.
Then the indictments came.
Corrupt officers.
Financial executives.
A federal judge.
Two state senators.
Three union officials.
An entire network built from secrets, money, and fear began collapsing.
Jared's name eventually appeared too.
He didn't run from it.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Miles.
“You can fight half these charges.”
Jared sat in his study.
“Some.”
“You inherited most of the companies.”
“I benefited from them.”
“That isn't automatically criminal.”
“No.”
Jared looked toward Willa.
“But pretending everything was legitimate kept the system alive.”
Willa sat beside Roman.
The Mastiff now weighed twelve pounds more than when she'd first met him.
His appetite had returned aggressively.
So had his habit of occupying entire sofas.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Cooperate.”
Miles exhaled.
“Your lawyers are going to love that.”
“I pay them enough.”
“You may lose companies.”
“I know.”
“Properties.”
“I know.”
“Money.”
Jared looked around the penthouse.
“Turns out I have too much.”
Willa smiled.
“That is the most annoying rich-person sentence I've ever heard.”
“I'll try to improve.”
Federal prosecutors eventually distinguished Jared's legitimate businesses from assets built on his father's crimes.
Several companies were sold.
Others placed under independent management.
Millions went into victim compensation funds.
Jared retained enough wealth to remain richer than anyone Willa had ever known.
He complained that Miles called this “financial devastation.”
Willa called it “still having a private elevator.”
Roman called it irrelevant.
The dog simply wanted turkey.
Brendan accepted a plea deal only after federal prosecutors showed him the recordings.
His sentence would keep him away for decades.
Willa didn't attend sentencing.
She didn't need to watch a door close to know she'd escaped.
Maria and Luca relocated.
The clinic reopened after renovations.
Willa returned to work.
Not as a floor mopper.
Dr. Crane had disappeared during the investigation, then turned himself in. He admitted Sebastian had pressured him to direct Jared toward Willa, hoping to place her inside the penthouse where Brendan could monitor both targets.
But Crane also admitted something else.
He had recommended Willa because he genuinely believed she could help Roman.
Both things had been true.
Life was messy that way.
Three months passed.
Willa started classes for veterinary technician certification.
Jared offered to pay.
She refused.
He offered again.
She threatened to mop his penthouse with toilet water.
He stopped offering.
Instead, an anonymous scholarship appeared through a city animal-care foundation.
Willa stared at the paperwork.
“You.”
Jared looked offended.
“You think I would disregard your clearly stated boundary?”
“Yes.”
“Reasonable.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
Miles did.
Willa hunted him down the next morning.
Miles surrendered within four minutes.
She accepted only after learning the scholarship had existed for years and she'd qualified independently.
Jared found the entire thing extremely entertaining.
By spring, Roman ran again.
Not fast.
Neapolitan Mastiffs were not designed for speed.
But one Saturday morning in Central Park, he charged after a squirrel with such determination that Jared nearly lost the leash.
Willa laughed.
Jared looked at her.
She noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“Staring like you're about to say something unpleasantly serious.”
“I've never heard that description.”
“Say it.”
Jared looked toward Roman.
“When this started, I told Miles nobody who entered that penthouse knowing what you knew could simply walk away.”
Willa's smile vanished.
Jared continued before she could speak.
“I thought protection meant control.”
Her heart tightened.
“My father taught me that.”
“Jared—”
“I was wrong.”
He looked at her.
“You walked away whenever you wanted.”
“Yes.”
“And every time you came back.”
Willa didn't answer.
“Why?”
Roman returned carrying a stick the size of a small tree branch.
Willa took it.
“Maybe I liked the dog.”
“Clearly.”
“Maybe Miles makes decent coffee.”
“Traitor.”
She smiled.
Then grew serious.
“Maybe I learned the difference between somebody wanting me near them and somebody believing they're entitled to keep me.”
Jared's face softened.
“I'll never be entitled to you.”
“Good answer.”
“I rehearsed it.”
She laughed.
Then he reached into his jacket.
Willa immediately pointed.
“If that's a ring, I'll throw it in the lake.”
Jared froze.
Slowly pulled out—
A dog treat.
Willa burst out laughing.
Roman swallowed it whole.
“You looked terrified.”
“I was calculating the value of the ring currently at home.”
Her laughter stopped.
“What?”
Jared smiled.
For once, the feared Jared Kensington looked almost nervous.
“Not today.”
“Good.”
“Someday?”
Willa looked toward the path ahead.
Cherry blossoms had begun opening.
Children ran across the grass.
Roman leaned against her leg.
Someday used to terrify her.
Brendan had taught her that promises were traps.
Her mother's letter had taught her something different.
Do not let fear turn your life into a smaller place.
Willa looked back at Jared.
“Ask me when I stop threatening to throw it in a lake.”
“How will I know?”
“You won't.”
“That seems unfair.”
“It is.”
He smiled.
And for now, that was enough.
But five miles away, in a federal evidence warehouse, an agent opened a sealed box recovered from Sebastian Vale's home.
Inside sat one photograph.
Jared.
Elena.
And a baby.
May you like
On the back, written in Elena's handwriting, were four words:
Jared doesn't know yet.
