Chapter 6

AMBER

The morning after the arrest was bright and sunny. It was a strange contrast to the dark and rainy night I had just survived. I was sitting in a small hotel room far from the Thorne estate. I did not want to be near that house. I did not want to breathe the same air as Evelyn. I had my laptop open on the small desk. My eyes were tired but my mind was sharp.

I watched the news on the television. Evelyn Thorne was standing in front of the police station. She looked perfect in her black suit. She did not look like a woman whose son was in a jail cell. She looked like a queen who was annoyed by a small problem.

"My son is innocent," Evelyn said to the cameras. "This is a tragic misunderstanding. Amber is a grieving woman who is not thinking clearly. She has created a story out of her pain. We will prove that Justine was never at that lake house and that the video has been edited to hurt our family name."

I leaned back in my chair and watched her. She was good. She was very good. She spoke with so much confidence that some people might actually believe her. She was trying to turn me into a crazy person. She wanted the world to think I was a bitter wife who wanted revenge for a simple affair.

"Go ahead, Evelyn," I whispered to the screen. "Play your game. I will let you think you are winning."

I knew that Evelyn would focus on the video. She would hire experts to say it was fake. She would try to buy the police. But while she was busy fixing the image of the family, I was going to cut off their blood supply. In the Thorne family, blood was not liquid. It was money.

I opened a file that Mark had sent to me late last night. It was a list of account numbers and bank codes. Justine thought he was being clever. Over the last three years, he had been moving small amounts of company money into offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. He used this money to buy Jade expensive jewelry, designer bags, and secret trips. He thought no one knew. He thought he was untouchable.

I picked up my phone and called a number Mark had given me. It was for a high level tax investigator named Mr. Santos. He was a man who hated corruption. He had been trying to find a way into the Thorne family finances for years, but Evelyn always blocked him.

"Mr. Santos," I said when he answered. "I have the keys to the door you have been trying to open."

"Who is this?" he asked.

"A friend of justice," I replied. "Check your encrypted email in five minutes. You will find the routing numbers for Justine Thorne’s private accounts. You will also find proof that these funds were taken from Thorne Holdings without the board's permission. I believe that is called embezzlement."

There was a long silence on the other end. I could hear him typing. "If this is real, the government will freeze everything connected to him immediately," Santos said.

"It is very real," I said. "And I want it done by noon."

I hung up the phone. I felt a cold chill of excitement. I was playing the game now. I was using their own greed against them.

While I was working in my room, Justine was being released on bail. Evelyn had used her connections to get him out of the cell within hours. She thought she had saved him.

Justine did not go to his mother first. He went straight to Jade. He wanted to feel like a man again. He wanted someone to tell him he was still powerful. He met Jade at an expensive jewelry store in the city center. He wanted to buy her a diamond necklace to thank her for sticking by him. He wanted to show her that despite the video and the arrest, he was still a Thorne.

I knew this because Mark was following them. He sent me a text message: They are at the jeweler on 5th Street. Justine is trying to act like a king.

I looked at the clock. It was 12:15 PM.

"Three, two, one," I counted down.

In the jewelry store, Justine pointed to a necklace that cost more than most people earn in ten years. Jade was smiling, her eyes greedy. She thought she was going to get a prize for her betrayal.

"I will take it," Justine told the clerk. He pulled out his black titanium credit card. It was a card with no limit. It was the symbol of his status.

The clerk took the card and swiped it. Justine waited with a smug look on his face. He looked at Jade and winked.

Declined.

The clerk frowned. "I am sorry, Mr. Thorne. There seems to be an issue. Let me try again."

Justine laughed. "That is impossible. Try another machine."

The clerk tried again. Declined.

"Check it again!" Justine shouted. His face was turning red. People in the store were starting to look. "Do you know who I am? I am Justine Thorne!"

"Sir, the machine says the account is frozen by the authorities," the clerk said softly.

Justine pulled out another card. A gold one. Declined. He pulled out a third card. Declined.

Jade’s smile disappeared. She looked at Justine with disgust. "What is going on, Justine? I thought you said you had everything under control."

"I do! I don't understand!" Justine was sweating now. He reached for his phone to call his mother, but he saw a notification on his screen. It was a news alert.

BREAKING: Government freezes all personal assets of Justine Thorne amidst embezzlement and hit-and-run investigation.

Justine’s hand began to shake. He looked around the store. He saw people whispering and pointing at him. He saw the security guard moving closer. He was no longer the prince of the city. He was a man who couldn't even pay for a cup of coffee.

"Justine, I am leaving," Jade hissed. She didn't want to be seen with a man who had no money. She turned and walked out of the store, leaving him standing there at the counter.

"Jade! Wait!" Justine called out, but his voice was weak.

He stood there alone. The clerk took the necklace and put it back in the glass case. The click of the lock sounded like a prison door.

I watched the whole thing through a video Mark sent me from his phone. I saw Justine stumble out of the store. He looked like a ghost. He tried to hail a taxi, but then he realized he couldn't even pay the fare. He had to walk.

I shut my laptop. This was only the beginning. I had taken his money. Next, I would take his name.

My phone rang. It was Mark.

"It worked," Mark said. "He is walking back to the estate. He looks pathetic. Evelyn is calling me every five seconds. She is screaming. She knows the government is looking into the company books now."

"Good," I said. "Let her scream. Have you found the files for the secondary trust?"

"I am at the office now," Mark replied. "Evelyn is distracted with the lawyers. I am going into the vault. Amber, if I find what I think is in here, Evelyn is going to do more than just lose her money. She might lose her freedom too."

"Be careful, Mark," I warned. "She is a wounded animal now. She will bite."

"I know," Mark said. "I will call you when I have the papers. Stay safe."

I hung up and walked to the window. I looked out at the city. For the first time in a year, I felt like I was the one in control. I was no longer the woman who was left to die on the side of the road. I was the one driving the car now.

But my heart stopped when I saw a dark car parked across the street from my hotel. The windows were tinted black. It had been sitting there for an hour.

I realized that Evelyn was not just playing the game in the media. She was hunting me.

I grabbed my bag and my laptop. I couldn't stay here. I needed to move.

As I walked toward the door, I saw a white envelope slide under my room door. There was no name on it. I picked it up and opened it.

Inside was a photo of me sitting at the park three days ago. On the back, someone had written in elegant, cold handwriting:

A Thorne always gets what they want, Amber. Give back what you stole, or you will join your baby.

I felt a shiver of fear, but I didn't let it stop me. I tucked the note into my pocket.

"You think you can scare me with death?" I whispered. "I already died in that car, Evelyn. You are fighting a ghost."

I walked out of the room and headed for the stairs. The war was getting dirty, but I was ready to get my hands covered in blood.