CHAPTER 8: THE CELLBLOCK TRUTH
CHAPTER 8: THE CELLBLOCK TRUTH
To destroy a billionaire, you need more than data.
You need an admission. Two days later, Hannah and I sat in the maximum-security visitation room at Stateville Correctional Center.
The bulletproof glass separated us from Preston. He wore an orange jumpsuit. The manicured hair was gone, shaved close to the scalp.
The expensive watch was gone, replaced by a plastic identification band. The arrogance was still there, but it was frayed around the edges. Like cheap fabric under tension. He picked up the phone.
"Come to gloat, Evy?" he sneered.
"We know about Arthur Sterling, Preston," I said through the receiver.
Preston’s smile instantly vanished. His skin turned a sickly, translucent grey.
"You don't know anything," he muttered, his eyes darting toward the guard at the door.
Hannah leaned close to the glass, taking the phone from my hand. "Arthur sent us the archives, Preston," she said, her voice a chilling whisper.
"He told us you're trying to betray him to get out early." "And he told us he’s going to let our father take the fall for the 2006 shell accounts."
Preston let out a bitter, desperate laugh. "Arthur is a snake! He promised me he’d take care of my legal defense if I kept my mouth shut during my trial! Then the moment the gates closed behind me, his lawyers stopped taking my calls!"
"He used you, Preston," Hannah said softly. "Just like you used us." Preston slammed his fist against the glass.
"I built his offshore network! I have the encryption logs for the entire twenty-year cycle stored on a blind server!"
"Where?" I demanded, grabbing the phone back. Preston stared at me, his breathing ragged, his chest heaving under the orange cotton.
The realization of his complete isolation finally settled into his eyes. The golden child was completely, utterly abandoned.
"It’s under the foundation's original property code," he whispered, tears of pure venom spilling over his lashes.
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"The password is the date Hannah left." "Destroy him, Evelyn."
"If I'm burning in here, I want him to burn with me."
