Vivienne's POV
You're not arresting her.
Damian stepped in front of me, his gun still raised, blood dripping down his face from the crash. Twenty FBI agents had their weapons pointed at the hit squad, but Agent Marks was looking at me like I was a criminal.
Mr. Cross, lower your weapon, Agent Marks said. Those men were about to kill you both. We saved your lives. Now step aside.
Not until you tell me why you need to arrest a woman who was just shot at, Damian said, his voice dangerous.
Because she's wanted for breaking and entering, evading federal custody, and obstruction of justice. Agent Marks gestured to two agents. Take her into custody.
Wait! I stepped around Damian, clutching the files against my chest. These files prove everything. My father's crimes. The people he worked with. The reason someone wants me dead. You need to see them before you arrest me.
Agent Marks studied me for a long moment. Then she looked at the six armed men her team was handcuffing.
Who sent you? she asked the well-dressed man who'd spoken earlier.
He smiled but said nothing.
Professional hit squad, Agent Marks muttered. She looked back at me. What's in those files?
Proof, I said. Proof that my father wasn't just a businessman. Proof that someone in my family wants me dead. Proof that I'm not crazy or suicidal or any of the things Patricia is claiming.
Agent Marks was quiet for a moment. Then she made a decision.
Take those men in for questioning, she told her team. Ms. Ashford, Mr. Cross—you're coming with me. If those files contain what you claim, we'll discuss the charges. If not, you're both going to jail.
Thirty minutes later, we were in a secure FBI conference room. Sophie had arrived somehow—she always knew where to find me—and sat beside me while Damian stood against the wall like a guard. The files were spread across the table.
Agent Marks read through them silently, her face getting darker with each page.
This is thirty years of evidence, she finally said. Money laundering. Bribery. Blackmail. At least seven suspicious deaths classified as accidents. She looked up at me. Your father was involved with the Volkov crime family.
My stomach dropped. Who?
Nikolai Volkov. Head of one of the most dangerous criminal organizations on the East Coast. Your father's real estate empire was a front for washing their dirty money. Agent Marks tapped one of the files. This proves everything we've been trying to nail them for. But Vivienne—
She paused, and her face softened slightly.
Your father was going to turn himself in. Three days before he died, he contacted my office. Said he wanted to make a deal—his testimony for immunity for you. He wanted to confess everything but keep you out of it.
Tears burned my eyes. He was trying to protect me?
And that's probably why he's dead. Agent Marks pulled out another file. His death was ruled a heart attack. But given what's in these documents, I'm ordering his body exhumed. I think he was murdered.
The room spun. My father didn't just die. He was killed because he tried to do the right thing.
There's more, Sophie said quietly. She'd been looking through the files while Agent Marks talked. She held up a document. This is a contract between Theodore Ashford and someone named D. Cross. Dated four months ago.
Damian pushed off the wall. What?
Sophie handed it to him. It's a private security contract. Theodore hired you to investigate threats against Vivienne. He paid you a hundred thousand dollars upfront.
Damian stared at the paper like it was written in a foreign language. That's impossible. I never met Theodore Ashford. I never signed this.
But you did receive an anonymous tip about Emma's death, I said, my brain working fast. About four months ago, right? Someone sent you information connecting the Ashfords to what happened to your sister.
His face went pale. How did you know that?
Because it's here. I found the file I was looking for and opened it. Inside was a memo in my father's handwriting.
D. Cross – former Marine, private security specialist, currently investigating his sister's death (Emma Cross, May 15, 2019 – my responsibility, my sin). Send him the evidence. Let him find the truth. He'll hate the Ashford name, but he's honorable. He'll protect Vivienne when I can't anymore. He's the only one I can trust.
The room went completely silent.
Damian's hands shook as he held the memo. He knew I'd come after him. After his family. And he still—
He hired you anyway, I finished. He wanted you to find out about Emma. He wanted you to have proof. And he trusted you to protect me even though you had every reason to want revenge.
This doesn't make sense. Damian's voice was rough. Why would he do that?
I found another paper—a letter addressed to me in my father's handwriting. My hands trembled as I opened it.
My dearest Vivienne,
If you're reading this, I'm dead, and you've found my insurance files. I'm sorry. I'm so deeply sorry for the legacy of lies and blood I'm leaving you.
I was young and ambitious when I made my first deal with Nikolai Volkov. I told myself it was just business. Just money. But each compromise led to another until I was drowning in crimes I couldn't escape.
Your mother discovered the truth. That's why she died—not a car accident. I let them kill her to protect myself. I've lived with that guilt every day since.
I tried to be a good father while being a terrible man. I failed at both.
In my last months, I decided to try for redemption. These files contain everything—every crime, every name. It will destroy the Ashford name, but better that than letting you inherit my sins.
The assassination attempt on you was ordered by someone in our family. Patricia or Marcus, or both. They're working with Volkov to bury the evidence.
I've hired someone to protect you. His name is Damian Cross. His sister Emma died because of me, because I gave the order to silence a witness. I can never make that right, but I can give him justice and give you protection.
Trust him, Vivienne. He has every reason to hate us, but he's a good man. Let him keep you safe.
I love you. I'm sorry I wasn't the father you deserved.
Burn it all down if you need to. Start fresh. Live free.
—Theodore
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. My father knew Patricia and Marcus wanted me dead. He knew he was going to die. And he spent his last days trying to protect me the only way he knew how.
By hiring the brother of a woman he'd murdered.
He manipulated both of us, Damian said quietly. He was staring at the letter over my shoulder. He sent me evidence about Emma knowing I'd investigate. Knowing I'd want revenge. Then he made sure when the time came, I'd be there to protect you.
He played chess with our lives, I whispered.
And sacrificed himself as the opening move. Agent Marks was reading something on her tablet, her face grim. I just got the background check on those men who attacked you. They're connected to the Volkov organization. Professional killers, very expensive.
Why would Volkov want me dead? I asked.
Because you're Theodore's heir. And according to these files, your father was about to testify against him. Volkov probably thinks you have information that could destroy him. Agent Marks looked at me seriously. You're not safe anywhere, Vivienne. The Volkov family doesn't give up. They'll keep sending people until you're dead.
Then what do I do? My voice came out small and scared.
You let me put you in protective custody. Witness protection until we can arrest Volkov and everyone involved.
No. I stood up, surprising myself. I'm done hiding. I'm done running. These files are my father's legacy—the only good thing he left me. We use them. We expose everything. We bring down everyone who hurt my family and everyone who's trying to hurt me now.
That's suicide, Agent Marks said flatly.
That's justice, I countered.
Sophie grabbed my hand. Vivienne, she's right. If you go public with this—
Then Patricia and Marcus go to prison. Volkov gets arrested. Julian's father loses everything. Everyone who betrayed me pays. I looked at Damian. Isn't that what you wanted? To destroy the people who covered up Emma's murder?
His dark eyes met mine, and something passed between us. Understanding. Recognition.
Your father did one good thing in his life, Damian said quietly. He tried to protect you. Are you really going to throw that away?
I'm not throwing it away. I'm finishing what he started. My voice was stronger now. He wanted the truth to come out. He wanted justice. So let's give it to him.
Agent Marks studied me for a long moment. You understand that if we move forward with this, you'll be testifying against your own family. Patricia, Marcus—they'll go to prison. The Ashford name will be destroyed forever.
Good, I said. Let it burn.
Sophie's phone buzzed. She looked at it and her face went white.
What? I asked.
It's from an unknown number. Her hands shook as she turned the phone to show me.
The message was short, with a photo attached.
Tell Vivienne her bodyguard isn't the only one who lost someone. We're just evening the score.
The photo showed a woman tied to a chair, gagged, terrified eyes wide. She had dark hair and looked about thirty years old.
I didn't recognize her.
But Damian did.
No. The word came out broken, destroyed. He grabbed Sophie's phone, staring at the photo like his world was ending. No. No. Not her. Not Maria.
Who's Maria? I asked.
He looked at me, and his face was devastated. Completely shattered.
My wife, he whispered.
The room went silent.
Your what? I couldn't process the words.
My wife. His voice was hollow. I didn't tell you because—because she left me three years ago. After Emma died. She couldn't handle my obsession with finding the killer. We're separated, but we never divorced. She lives in Boston now, works at a hospital, stays away from my mess.
Another message came through.
You took our files. We took your wife. Fair trade. You have 12 hours to return everything you stole from the mansion, or Maria Cross dies. Come alone. No FBI. No police. Just you and the files. We'll send the address at dawn.
P.S. - Bring the Ashford girl too. Mr. Volkov wants to meet her before she dies.