THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO THE CHILDREN’S CANCER RESEARCH. THE FAMILIES SEND THEIR GRADITUDE.
She closed the safe. Spun the keypad to reset it. Pressed the panel back into place and heard the magnetic latch catch.
The phone buzzed one more time.
I kicked it. It gave me a Sprite. I wanted a Coke. Life is full of compromise.
She smiled, but pocketed the phone without responding. There was nothing she could say tonight that wouldn’t be a lie or a goodbye, and she wasn’t ready for either.
She retraced her steps through the study and back through the guest room to the window she’d left unlocked six hours ago. She eased it open, climbed through, and dropped silently to the lawn.
The night air hit her face. Cool. Clean. Free of the stale, climate-controlled air of a house that belonged to a man who’d never face a courtroom for what he’d done.
But he’d still paid. And would lose even more when details went public.
She walked two blocks to where she’d parked, got in the car, and drove home in silence.
Cassandra picked up before the second ring.
“It’s done,” Fallon said. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, the leather roll open on the mattress beside her. The gemstones caught the lamplight and scattered it across the sheets.
“All of it?”
“Every stone. Safe was right where you said it would be. Code worked on the first try.”
“And the signature?”
“Hospital band and the note. Centered on the empty tray. I wish we could be there to see it when he opens that safe.”
Cassandra exhaled. A long, slow breath that carried the particular relief of someone who’d been holding tension for hours. “The press release goes out today. I queued it last night. Six outlets, all confirmed. The financial documents, the foundation audit discrepancies, the bank transfers—all of it. By tomorrow morning his name is going to be everywhere, and not in the way he likes.”
“Where are we with fencing what we’ve got?”
“Already in motion. Confirmed they can move the stones within two weeks. Combined with everything else you’ve taken from him over the course of the operation, the families should start receiving disbursements within a month.”
Fallon nodded. “It won’t be enough. It’s never enough. But it’s something.”
“I really wish this one would go to prison.” Cassandra sighed. “Sadly, hacked and stolen data is inadmissible in court. But the exposure will do its own damage. Every charity board he sits on will quietly remove him. The donors who shook his hand at those fundraisers will pretend they never knew him.”
“Again, not enough. But it’s something.”
Professional satisfaction. They’d done it. Another target taken down. The system didn’t work, so they did.
“We did it, Cass.”
“We did it.” Cassandra let that land for a moment. Then she exhaled. “Which brings us to the other conversation.”
Fallon’s hand stilled on the leather roll. She’d known it was coming. She’d known since before she climbed through that window tonight.
“It’s time to leave Austin.”
“I know.”
“That’s the deal. It’s always the deal. Finish the job, move on before anyone connects the dots.”
“I said I know.”
Cassandra was quiet for a beat. “The burner phone, Fallon.”
