2026-04-23 16:21:11
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Second Name
POV: Ethan ColeI came back into the conference room after calling Victoria.She didn't answer.Left her a voicemail asking her to call me immediately.Maya looked up from her laptop."Priya, read that secondary target name again."Priya checked her system."Owen Marsh."I sat down."Owen Marsh was my head of legal at Cole Industries before Daniel's takeover.""Your lawyer?" Jennifer asked."Yeah. He was in the room when Daniel presented the fraudulent board resolution. He reviewed the documentation, found it questionable, and signed off anyway.""Why didn't you go after him during your campaign?""I assumed he was just a corporate lawyer who made a bad call under pressure. Daniel and Emma were the real targets. Owen was collateral damage."Priya pulled up more information on her screen."Your system is flagging Marsh as connected to both Arthur Crane and the original Cole Industries takeover documentation. They went to the same law school, same graduating class.""Fuck.""There's mor
Priya's First Mission
POV: Priya NairI was nervous in the prosecution conference room. And it wasn’t because I was frightened of the people. I was frightened of getting it wrong. The full team was there, Jennifer, Maya, Ethan, Adrian, Marcus, and Lily.They were all looking at me."The second lawyer's name is Arthur Crane," I said. "Sixty-two years old, named partner at Crane & Whitfield. Same firm currently handling Daniel Cross's sentencing review."Ethan leaned forward."How certain are you?""Very. The financial trust account Ashby used to pay the contractor ran through Crane's client trust account fourteen years ago."I pulled up the documentation on my laptop."Crane wasn't the one who ordered the murder. He was the money handler. But handling the money for a murder-for-hire arrangement makes him a co-conspirator."Marcus came around to look at my screen."Walk me through this."I did.Showed him the payment chain, the trust account records, the communications between Ashby and Crane dated two weeks
The Plea Decision
POV: Maya SantosWe left the courthouse as the sun was setting. Ethan drove us back to the penthouse while Catherine sat in the back. Nobody talked much. I kept thinking about the decision I'd just made. Rejecting eight years guaranteed for the risk of twenty-five to life. Or the risk of nothing.At the penthouse Ethan ordered food and we ate at the kitchen table. Catherine looked at me."You're second-guessing yourself.""Is it that obvious?""Yes.""What if we lose?""Then you'll know you fought for what was right instead of what was safe. That matters.""Does it?""Ask me in twenty years when you're not living with the regret of taking a plea you didn't believe in."It’s funny how at the end of the day, you have to make your life’s decisions, and no one’s going to do it for you. Just moments ago Catherine was telling me about choosing peace, now it’s what was right.I know she’s just caring for me. But at the end of the day, we’re all on our own.Ethan's phone buzzed with a messag
Jennifer Testifies
POV: Jennifer ReevesI took the stand in the afternoon session. Diana Okafor walked me through the investigation step by step."Detective Reeves, when did you first identify Cynthia Ashby as a suspect in the Santos murders?""During the investigation into her pharmaceutical fraud network. We found communications between Ashby and a contractor discussing the elimination of a journalist who was pursuing a story about falsified drug trials.""What led you to those communications?""A retired partner at Ashby's firm came forward with recordings he'd kept for fourteen years. He was seeking immunity in exchange for testimony.""And you verified these recordings?""Yes. Forensic audio analysis confirmed they were authentic and unaltered. We cross-referenced the dates and content with financial records showing payments from Ashby to the contractor."Diana walked me through every piece of evidence. Financial records Marcus had pulled through court-ordered subpoenas, email communications Lily h
The Trial Begins
POV: Maya SantosI stopped on the steps and looked up at the building. Fourteen years. Fourteen whole years of trying to get to this point.Ethan stayed one step behind me, close enough that I could feel him there, far enough that this moment belonged to me."Ready?" he asked quietly."Yeah."We went inside.****The courtroom was already filling up. Lead prosecutor Diana Okafor was at the prosecution table reviewing notes with her team. She'd been in contact with me for two weeks, walking me through what to expect, how testimony would work, what the defense might try.I liked her. She was sharp and direct and didn't waste time on bullshit.Ashby was already seated at the defense table wearing a charcoal Armani suit, perfect posture. She was so compsed it looked like she was attending a board meeting instead of her own murder trial. Vance sat beside her with two junior associates and a paralegal.Ashby made eye contact with me and held it when I walked in. It’s deliberate. I could see
How to Tell the Truth
POV: Maya SantosJennifer called me twenty minutes after Ethan about the system transfer to Priyar. "We have a problem.""What kind of problem?""Ashby's defense team filed a character challenge against me. They're saying I used an unlicensed private intelligence apparatus. They don't know what the system is but they know my intelligence was too precise and too fast.""Shit.""Yeah. I have six days to figure out how to testify without mentioning it.""Come to the Foundation. Now."She was there in thirty minutes.I spread all her evidence documentation across the conference table and started reading.Ethan showed up an hour later with coffee and Marcus."Jennifer called me," Ethan said. "Figured you'd need backup.""I need to understand every piece of evidence and where it actually came from," I said. "Not system-source. Actual source."Marcus sat down."Financial records came from me. Court-ordered subpoenas on Harmon Capital and subsidiary accounts. Completely legal.""Email commun
You may also like
Ancestral Heir System
Dark Crafter49.0K viewsEasySync System: Amazing Wealth
Baby Bunny27.2K viewsSystem Activated: Revenge of the bullied.
Ella Chimezie27.6K viewsValkyrie Black
Drew Archeron23.1K viewsThe Emperor of Cultivation Prediction
Gealova140 viewsThe Reincarnation of the Death Star
Shadow X Design290 viewsThe Hidden Sovereign: Ascension of the Forsaken
Hanju-Ink112 viewsUrban Harem Dominance System
Precious Tutu269 views