Chương 11 - What Happened to Laura
Thomas asked for a deal.
Ivan wanted none.
Detectives did.
In exchange for reduced charges, Thomas described everything.
Victor had ordered intimidation.
Thomas had managed logistics.
Laura was supposed to be frightened into silence.
Her crash had not been planned as a murder.
But the men following her forced her into a dangerous intersection.
She died.
Ivan listened from behind the interrogation-room glass.
No dramatic explosion of anger came.
Only emptiness.
For three years he had blamed fate.
Now fate had names.
Jessi stood beside him.
“I'm sorry.”
Ivan stared through the glass.
“I spent years wondering if I could've changed something.”
“You couldn't.”
“I know that now.”
That didn't make it hurt less.
The evidence also confirmed sabotage in Jessi's crash.
Victor had wanted her injured enough to force her from leadership.
He had nearly killed her instead.
The criminal investigation expanded.
Board members resigned.
Reporters surrounded Sterling Tower.
Jessi's secret injuries inevitably became public.
Ivan expected her to collapse emotionally.
Instead, she held a press conference.
She walked to the podium without hiding her brace.
“My recovery was not as complete as I allowed the public to believe.”
Cameras flashed.
“I hid my injuries because I believed vulnerability would make me weaker.”
She paused.
“I was wrong.”
Ivan watched from backstage.
Fiona held his hand.
“She looks nervous,” Fiona whispered.
“She is.”
“But she's doing it anyway.”
“That's courage.”
Fiona smiled.
“Like you?”
Ivan shook his head.
“Like your mom.”
Later, Jessi found him alone.
“You're leaving.”
It wasn't a question.
“The threat's over.”
“You have a contract.”
“You don't need a shield anymore.”
Her expression changed.
“What if I don't want one?”
Ivan looked at her.
“What do you want?”
May you like
For once, Jessi Sterling had no answer.
And that frightened her more than Victor ever had.
