Chapter 12 - The Blackmail
Without a badge, I had to operate in the shadows. I went back to my apartment, making sure the lights were on and the curtains were open just enough to show I was home. I wanted the watcher to see me.
At 10:00 PM, my burner phone rang. Only three people had the number.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Where is she, Elena?" Mark’s voice was smooth, dripping with arrogant confidence.
"Somewhere you will never find her," I replied, recording the call.
"You think you're so smart," Mark chuckled. "You think hiding her changes anything? I have a folder full of Sarah’s old medical records. Remember that miscarriage she had five years ago? The one she never told anyone about? If you don't drop the charges by noon tomorrow, I'm selling the story to the tabloids. I'll humiliate her in front of the entire city."
My grip on the phone tightened until the plastic groaned. He was a monster, weaponizing her deepest trauma.
"You do that, Mark," I said, my voice terrifyingly calm. "And I will make sure the Petrovs find out that you've been skimming ten percent off the top of their laundering operation."
Dead silence on the line. I had bluffed, guessing based on the messy accounting in the ledger, but his silence told me I had hit the bullseye.
May you like
"You're lying," he finally stammered.
"Check your math, Mark. They'll check theirs. See you in court." I hung up.
