Chapter Fifty-Three: The Garage

Julian's video didn't change anything.

It didn't stop the investigation. It didn't stop the headlines. It didn't stop the FBI from freezing what was left of his assets. It just made him look desperate. It made him look like a man who had nothing left but lies.

But it did change one thing.

It brought Mira back.

She called me the day after the video went live. I didn't recognize the number. I almost didn't answer. But something made me pick up.

"Elena."

Her voice. Small. Shaking.

"What do you want?"

"I need to see you. It's about Julian. He's planning something. Something worse than the video."

I paused. I looked at the phone. I looked at the door.

"Where?"

She gave me an address. A parking garage downtown. Level three. She said she'd be there at noon. She said she'd wait. She said she didn't have anywhere else to go.

I hung up. I called Sloane.

---

The parking garage was almost empty.

A few cars on level one. None on level two. Level three was completely bare except for a single black sedan parked in the corner. Mira was standing beside it. No Julian. No bodyguards. Just her.

She looked worse than I'd ever seen her. No makeup. Hair pulled back in a messy knot. Dark circles under her eyes. She was wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt. I'd never seen her in anything but designer clothes.

I got out of the car. Sloane stayed behind the wheel. She didn't take her eyes off Mira.

"You came," Mira said.

"I came."

"I didn't think you would."

"I almost didn't."

She nodded. She looked at the ground. She looked at the car. She looked anywhere but at me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

She reached into her pocket. She pulled out a phone. She handed it to me.

"He left it behind. At the motel. He didn't know I took it."

I looked at the phone. A burner. Cheap. Untraceable.

"What's on it?"

"Messages. Calls. Plans. He's been talking to someone. Someone who's helping him."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He never used a name. Just a code. But the messages are there. The meeting places. The times."

I looked at the phone. Then at her.

"Why are you giving me this?"

She looked at me. She looked at me the way she had the last time we spoke. Like she was tired. Like she was done.

"Because I'm tired," she said. "I'm tired of being second. I'm tired of being a pawn. I'm tired of pretending I don't know what he is."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

"I know you don't trust me," she said. "I know you don't forgive me. I'm not asking for that. I'm just asking you to use this. To stop him before he does something we can't undo."

I looked at the phone. I looked at her.

"What is he planning?"

She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "He's going to kill someone. Someone you love. He thinks it's the only way to hurt you."

I didn't move. I didn't speak.

"He's not going to stop," Mira said. "He's not going to run. He's going to take something from you. The same way he took everything from you before."

I looked at her. She looked at me.

"Thank you," I said.

She nodded. She turned and walked away. Her footsteps echoed in the empty garage. She didn't look back.

---

I gave the phone to Felix.

He unlocked it. He scrolled through the messages. He read the plans. He tracked the codes. Within an hour, he had a name. Within two, he had an address.

The man Julian was working with was someone we knew. Someone we'd dealt with before. Someone who had access to the penthouse. Someone who had access to Daniel.

Victor Hale.

I sat in the conference room. Felix. Sloane. Adrian. We looked at the evidence.

"He's been feeding Julian information," Felix said. "Security protocols. Schedules. Locations."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Julian promised him money. A lot of it. Enough to disappear forever."

"And Daniel?"

"He was the target. Julian was going to use him to get to you."

I looked at Adrian. He looked at me.

"We need to find Victor," I said.

"We're already on it."

"And Daniel?"

"He's in his room. Sloane doubled the security."

I stood. I walked to the window. I didn't look at the city.

"Julian thinks he can take something from me," I said. "He thinks he can hurt me."

Adrian didn't respond. He just waited.

"He's wrong," I said.

---

That night, I found Daniel in the living room.

He was sitting on the couch. He was watching the news. The same story. The same headlines. He didn't look at me when I entered.

"You okay?" I asked.

"No."

I sat beside him.

"I keep thinking about what he'll do. Julian. When he realizes he's lost."

"He won't get the chance."

"You don't know that."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"I'm not going to let him touch you," I said.

"You can't promise that."

"I can."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me.

We sat there. The news played. The city hummed.

After a while, he said, "I'm glad you're my sister."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how.

He stood. He walked to his room. He closed the door.

I stayed on the couch. I didn't sleep. I didn't try to.

---

The next morning, Sloane found Victor Hale.

He was in a hotel on the other side of the city. Room 412. He was alone.

We went to get him.