I had refused with one sentence. “That is illegal.”
Celeste had slapped the papers against my chest. “You married into power. Your job is obedience.”Now she yanked me upright by my hair. Pain exploded across my scalp, but I looked past her at Damian. He wore a tailored navy suit and the smug expression of a man who believed tomorrow’s oath would erase yesterday’s crimes.
“You charged the campaign for this food,” I said quietly. “And the county paid your shell company for the same order.”
His smile flickered.
Adrian lowered his phone. “What did you say?”
Before marrying him, I had worked as a federal grants auditor. They called it boring because they never understood that numbers confessed more honestly than people. For six months, I had watched invoices disappear, vendors change names, and public money flow into Vale-controlled accounts. I had copied everything.
Only one person knew.
