Chapter 7 - The Poisoned Deal
Later that evening, I received a phone call from the county jail.
It was Natalie.
I accepted the collect call, putting her on speakerphone so Luke could hear.
"Enjoying the show, Grace?" she sneered, sounding completely unrepentant.
"You are facing twenty years in federal prison, Natalie," I replied coldly.
"I'm not the one who needs to worry."
"Oh, really?" she laughed, a nasty, grating sound.
"Because my lawyer just informed me that the prosecution's case relies entirely on Dr. Evans' testimony."
"And if Dr. Evans suddenly decided to retract his statement, they wouldn't have enough to hold me without bail."
My stomach tightened.
"What are you playing at?"
"I know you found the Sterling family," Natalie revealed, dropping her playful tone.
"I kept copies of all the files, Grace."
"Hidden on a cloud server that the FBI hasn't found yet."
"If you don't drop your civil suit against me and refuse to testify at the criminal trial, I will leak everything."
Luke leaned toward the phone, his face contorted in anger.
"You have no leverage, you psychopath."
"Don't I, Luke?" Natalie mocked.
"How do you think the Sterling family's stock prices will react when the world finds out their CEO bought a black-market baby?"
"How will little Mia's life be ruined when the paparazzi surround her preschool?"
She was right. The media circus would be absolutely devastating for the child.
"I will destroy their reputation, and I will make sure that girl's face is on every tabloid in the world," Natalie threatened.
"Unless you get me out of here."
She gave me twenty-four hours to make a decision before hanging up.
I looked at Luke, the heavy silence of our home pressing down on us.
"She thinks she has us trapped," I whispered.
"She thinks I will protect the child over punishing her."
Luke clenched his fists.
"What are we going to do?"
I picked up my phone and dialed Agent Harris.
May you like
"We are going to set a trap," I said with cold determination.
"Natalie just committed federal extortion from a recorded jail line."
