Chapter Twenty Five:The Bribe

NADIA POV

I did not sleep that night.

I sat on the floor of my hotel room with the folder in my hands. I read it again. And again. And again. I read the bank records. I read the wire transfers. I read the names. I read the dates.

Rachel.

My lawyer.

My friend.

The woman I had trusted with everything. The woman who had held my hand when I cried. The woman who had promised to protect me. The woman who had been feeding information to Eleanor from the beginning.

I did not want to believe it.

But the evidence was there.

The wire transfers. The payments. The meetings. The photographs.

Rachel.

I closed the folder. I set it down. I pressed my hand against my stomach. The baby. The tiny life inside me. The only thing that mattered.

"I do not know who to trust," I whispered. "I do not know who to trust anymore."

I picked up my phone. I called the detective.

He answered on the second ring.

"Did you find anything?" I asked.

"I found everything."

"Tell me."

"Rachel has been working with Eleanor for years. She was the one who told Eleanor about your mother's trust. She was the one who told Eleanor about your pregnancy. She was the one who told Eleanor where you were hiding."

I closed my eyes.

"She was the one who sent the watcher," I said.

"Yes."

"She was the one who sent the threats."

"Yes."

"She was the one who told Serena where I was."

"Yes."

I opened my eyes.

I looked at the wall.

I looked at the light coming through the blinds.

I looked at the future I was building.

And I did not know what to do.

---

DETECTIVE HARRIS POV

I did not want to believe it either.

Rachel was a good lawyer. A respected lawyer. She had been in the business for years. She had a reputation. She had a career. She had everything.

But the evidence did not lie.

The wire transfers. The payments. The meetings. The photographs. It was all there. It was all real. It was all true.

I sat in my car outside Nadia's hotel. I had been sitting there for hours. Watching. Waiting. Thinking.

I did not know what to do.

If I arrested Rachel, it would be a scandal. It would be in the news. It would be everywhere. It would destroy her career. It would destroy her reputation. It would destroy everything.

But if I did not arrest her, Nadia would be in danger.

I picked up my phone. I called my captain.

"Sir," I said. "I need to report something."

"What is it?"

"It is about Nadia Ashford. And her lawyer."

I told him everything.

When I finished, he was silent for a long time.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I am sure."

"Then we need to move fast. Before the others find out."

"I know."

"And Harris."

"Yes?"

"Be careful. These people are dangerous."

"I know."

I hung up.

I sat there in the dark.

I thought about Nadia. I thought about the way she looked at me when she handed me the folder. The way she said she did not know who to trust. The way she said she did not know what to do.

I did not know what to do either.

But I knew one thing.

I was not going to let her down.

---

NADIA POV

I called Rachel the next morning.

I did not know why. I did not know what I was going to say. I just needed to hear her voice. I needed to know if it was real. I needed to know if she was really the one who had betrayed me.

She answered on the second ring.

"Nadia. Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes.

"I am fine," I said.

"You do not sound fine."

"I am just tired."

"You need to rest."

"I know."

There was a pause.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

I did not answer.

"Nadia."

"Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

I opened my eyes.

"No," I said. "Everything is fine."

I hung up.

I sat there in the dark.

I thought about Rachel. I thought about the way she smiled at me. The way she laughed with me. The way she held my hand. The way she promised to protect me.

She had been lying to me from the beginning.

She had been using me from the beginning.

She had been working with Eleanor from the beginning.

And I had not seen it.

Until now.

---

ELEANOR POV

I sat in my new apartment and waited.

It was not as nice as my old house. It was not as big. It was not as elegant. But it was safe. It was anonymous. It was mine.

I picked up my phone. I called my contact at the police department.

"Eleanor," he said. "What do you want?"

"It is done," I said. "Rachel is no longer useful."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she has been compromised. Nadia knows."

There was a pause.

"How?"

"I told her."

"You did what?"

"I told her. I gave her the evidence. I gave her everything."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I needed her to trust me. I needed her to believe that I was on her side."

"And now?"

"And now she trusts no one. Not Rachel. Not the police. Not anyone. She is alone. She is scared. She is vulnerable."

"She will come to you."

"She will."

"And then?"

"And then we end this."

I hung up.

I leaned back in my chair.

I smiled.

A slow, cold smile.

A smile that held no warmth.

A smile that held only satisfaction.

The game was not over.

It had only just begun.

---

SERENA POV

I sat in my cell and stared at the wall.

I had been in here for three days. Three days of questioning. Three days of waiting. Three days of nothing.

Then the door opened.

A guard walked in. He was not the usual guard. He was different. He was older. He was calm. He was smiling.

"Serena Cole," he said. "You are free to go."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"You are free to go. The charges have been dropped."

"Charges dropped? How?"

He did not answer. He just unlocked the cell. He just held the door open. He just waited.

I stood up. I walked out of the cell. I walked down the hallway. I walked out of the building.

I did not look back.

I did not need to.

I was free.

And I knew who to thank.