Chapter 8 - The Sting
The next morning, I walked into the visitor's center of the county jail.
I wore a wire provided by Agent Harris, carefully hidden beneath my silk blouse.
Natalie sat behind the thick plexiglass partition, wearing an orange jumpsuit but still maintaining her arrogant smirk.
She picked up the plastic telephone receiver.
"I knew you would see reason," she said smugly.
"I drafted the statement retracting my accusations," I lied, holding up a blank manila envelope.
"But I need the login credentials to your cloud server first."
"I need to know those files are permanently deleted before I save you."
Natalie rolled her eyes, leaning closer to the glass.
"Do you think I'm stupid, Grace?"
"You don't get the files until I am walking out of the front doors of this pathetic building."
"Then we have no deal," I said firmly, standing up from my plastic chair.
"I'll let you rot in here, and we will handle the media fallout ourselves."
I turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Natalie snapped, slamming her hand against the glass.
I paused, looking back at her over my shoulder.
Panic finally began to crack her composed facade.
She was desperate, and I knew she didn't actually have a backup plan.
"Fine," she hissed, looking around nervously to ensure the guards weren't listening.
"The server is hosted on a proxy site."
"The IP address is written on the back of the family portrait in Dad's home office."
"The password is our mother's maiden name followed by the year the agency was founded."
I smiled, a genuine, chilling smile.
"Thank you, Natalie."
"For what?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"For admitting on a federally monitored wiretap that you possess stolen medical records to use for extortion," I replied.
The color instantly drained from her face as the realization hit her.
Agent Harris stepped out from the observation room behind me, tapping on the glass.
"Natalie Vance, we are adding extortion and witness tampering to your federal indictment," the agent announced through the intercom.
Natalie screamed, slamming both fists against the plexiglass like a wild animal.
She cursed at me, her face twisting in absolute hatred as two guards grabbed her arms to drag her back to her cell.
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I didn't flinch.
I just watched her disappear behind the heavy steel doors, feeling a massive weight lift from my shoulders.
