Chapter 6 - The Aftermath and the WarningThree weeks passed in a blur of police interviews, psychological evaluations for Noah and Lily, and emergency family court hearings.
The house in suburban New York no longer felt like a prison. We had repainted the children's rooms, removed the smart home surveillance nodes, and replaced every lock. Lena was currently being held without bail, facing a battery of state and federal charges as prosecutors used her cooperation against Sloane to unravel a massive corporate-espionage ring.
Sloane’s trial was projected to be the financial scandal of the decade. The board of directors had unanimously ousted him, voting me back into absolute control of the company with zero interference. But success tasted entirely different now. I hadn't worked a single evening in three weeks. Every dinner was eaten at the kitchen table, surrounded by laughter and quiet conversation.
Yet, a lingering shadow remained.
On a crisp Tuesday afternoon, Marcus Vance walked into my home office, carrying a thick manila envelope stamped with federal classification seals.
"Adrian, you need to see this," Marcus said, placing the envelope on my desk.
I looked up from the Lego castle I was building with Lily on the rug. "What is it? Did Sloane change his plea?"
"Worse," Marcus said grimly. "Federal agents finished downloading the encrypted hard drive we recovered from the hidden cabinet behind the basement storage boxes. They found a series of communications between Sloane and an unknown third party—someone operating outside the corporation."
My stomach tightened. "Who?"
"We don't have a name yet, but according to the metadata, the communications didn't stop when Sloane was arrested," Marcus said, leaning over the desk. "In fact, an automated message was triggered three days ago, right after the custody transfer was legally reversed in your favor."
I stood up slowly, dusting off my hands. "What did the message say?"
May you like
Marcus slid a single printed sheet of paper from the envelope. Across the top, typed in bold, chilling letters, was a sentence that made the blood run cold in my veins:
THE ACQUISITION OF THE COLE FAMILY WAS NEVER ABOUT THE COMPANY. IT WAS ABOUT REVENGE.
