Chapter 5
My father stepped between me and the stranger.
“We have nothing to say to you. Leave this property.”
Marcus Voss didn’t flinch. He reached into his coat and pulled out a single folded sheet of paper. Held it out.
“I’m not here to argue,” he said. “I’m here to make sure everyone walks away from this without getting hurt. Including you, Sarah.”
My blood ran cold. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’m being realistic,” Voss said calmly. “This case goes public—Daniel goes away for a very long time. But the money never comes back. Not a penny. And along the way… things happen. Witnesses vanish. Evidence gets lost. Accidents take place. Is that what you want?”
“Are you seriously telling us to drop charges?” my father demanded.
“I’m telling you to be smart,” Voss said. “Daniel is prepared to sign over whatever you can prove is still in his name. About three hundred thousand in liquid assets. The cars. Some jewelry. And he’ll walk away. Plead guilty to a lesser charge. Serve two years, get probation. No one gets hurt. Everyone moves on.”
“Three hundred thousand?” I stepped around my father. “He stole four point two million. And you think I’ll settle for crumbs?”
Voss’s expression shifted. His eyes turned harder.
“Sarah, listen to me. That money belongs to people you do not want to cross. Daniel was the front man. The face. If you keep digging, you aren’t going after Daniel anymore. You’re going after them. And they do not care who gets caught in the crossfire.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a warning.” He took a step closer. “Lauren already learned that lesson. She tried to make demands last night. Threatened to go to the press with everything. She’s lucky she only got scared and ran.”
My breath caught. “You know where she is?”
“I know that she realized making enemies here is unhealthy,” Voss said. “Take the deal. Walk away. Before someone gets seriously hurt. Daniel won. He got the money. You keep your house. Your life. Your family alive. That is more than most people get.”
I stared at him. Calm. Polite. Completely terrifying.
“Tell Daniel this,” I said. “I don’t care who stands behind him. I don’t care how powerful they are. They stole what is mine. And I am going to take every last dollar back. Then I’m going to put every single one of them in prison. Starting with him.”
Voss studied me for a long moment. Then he folded the paper back up.
“Very well,” he said quietly. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And Sarah—watch your back. Accidents happen.”
He turned and walked away. Through the gate. Into a dark sedan waiting at the curb. It pulled away seconds later.
My father looked at me, pale.
“This is bad,” he said. “Voss is connected. Deeply. If he’s involved… we’re looking at organized money laundering. Maybe worse.”
“Then we fight dirty too,” I said. “Lauren has the evidence. She ran, but she left a number. We find her. We get those files. And then we hand everything over to the FBI. Not just local police. Federal. These people can’t buy their way out of federal prison.”
May you like
My father nodded slowly. “But if they find Lauren first—”
“Then we get to her first,” I said. “She’s scared. She’s pregnant. And she knows too much. If we don’t find her soon… Daniel and his friends will.”
