Ellis shouted, “You idiot! Those are the only originals.”
I stared at Damian. “Thank you.”
His face changed.
The ledger was important, but he had just destroyed evidence while my recording streamed live. More importantly, I had photographed every page an hour earlier, after finding Celeste’s study unlocked. The files were scheduled to transmit if I missed a check-in.
Sirens wailed faintly beyond the hills.
Adrian slapped me hard enough to split my lip. “What did you do?”
I tasted blood and smiled. “I gave honest men a reason to enter your house.”
Outside, the estate lights suddenly died.
The security guard reached for his pistol.
A voice thundered through loudspeakers from the darkness: “Federal agents! Step away from the weapon and show your hands!”
The kitchen transformed instantly from a kingdom into a crime scene, and every arrogant face turned toward me with the same terrified question.
Part 3
The basement doors burst inward with a concussion of wood and steel. Black-armored officers flooded the kitchen, weapons trained safely downward until the guard lifted his pistol. Three red laser dots settled on his chest.
