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Katherine did not cry when she walked into their immaculate suburban home. The silence of the empty house, which usually felt lonely on the nights Reginald claimed to be working late, now felt like a tactical advantage. / Chapter 9 / 31

Chapter 9 - The FallThe front door burst open, and heavily armed federal agents swarmed the staircase. Reginald didn't even fight. He dropped to his knees, sobbing like a child as the steel cuffs clicked around his wrists.

Katherine walked downstairs behind them, her coat draped elegantly over her arm.

Outside, the neighbors were on their lawns, watching in shock as the neighborhood golden boy was shoved into the back of a federal cruiser. Paul Hargrove was already sitting in the other car, his head hung in absolute disgrace.

Marcus Bell stood by Katherine’s car in the driveway, grinning as he held open the passenger door for her.

"Not a bad morning's work, Kath," Marcus said as she slid in. "Whitfield Development is in federal receivership. First Meridian Bank is begging you to come back as the Regional Director to clean up Hargrove’s mess. And you get to name your own salary."

"Drive, Marcus," Katherine smiled, feeling the morning sun warm her face. For the first time in a decade, she could breathe.

They drove away from the suburban prison she had lived in for ten years, heading toward the towering glass skyline of Chicago. The numbers had balanced perfectly.

But as they sat at a red light, Katherine’s eyes drifted to Marcus’s open laptop on the center console.

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