The drive feels impossibly light in my palm. It is just a piece of plastic and metal, but it holds the entire Vance family empire. It holds the forged transfer documents. It holds the offshore ledgers. It holds the proof that Simon is a thief and Preston is a criminal.
I close my fist around it.
The door to the office opens.
I spin around, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I expect to see one of the plainclothes detectives standing in the doorway, demanding to know what I’m holding.
It isn't a detective.
Grant is standing in the doorway. He is wearing his usual dark overcoat, but his tie is slightly loosened, and his breathing is heavy, as if he just ran up three flights of stairs. He looks past me, scanning the empty office, before his eyes lock onto my face.
"The police are clear of the building," Grant says, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I have a team trailing the squad car to the precinct. The defense attorneys are already waiting for him there."
I let out a shaky breath, the tension in my shoulders releasing just a fraction. "They didn't search the apartment."
"Malcolm wouldn't have allowed it without a warrant. And Preston wouldn't risk a federal judge looking too closely at the probable cause for this arrest." Grant steps fully into the office, closing the door behind him. "Are you injured, Miss Jennings?"
"No." I open my hand, showing him the black USB drive. "He gave me this. He told me to hide it."
Grant looks at the drive. His expression doesn't change, but I see the slight tightening of the muscles in his jaw. He knows exactly what it is.
"He told you to hold it," Grant corrects me quietly. "He didn't tell you to use it."
"He told me it destroys Simon and the holding company." I step toward the desk, my mind racing. "If we take this to the feds right now, we can prove Preston is blackmailing him. We can prove the arson was a setup to ruin his credibility."
"If we take that to the feds right now, Malcolm goes to federal prison," Grant says flatly.
I freeze. "What?"
"The ledgers on that drive implicate the entire Vance holding company. That includes the security division." Grant walks over to the desk, his massive frame dominating the space. "Malcolm built the firewalls that hid those transactions. He facilitated the transfers. He is just as guilty in the eyes of the SEC as Preston is."
The air leaves my lungs.
I have immunity. I negotiated it yesterday.
He lied. He lied to Preston in the library to force his hand, and he lied to me to keep me from panicking. He didn't secure immunity. He just handed me the weapon and told me to pull the trigger, fully knowing the blast radius would take him out too.
"He knew," I whisper, staring at the plastic drive in my hand. "He knew it would destroy him, and he still told me to keep it."
"Malcolm operates on a very specific set of priorities," Grant says. He doesn't sound angry. He sounds resigned. "Protecting the company used to be at the top of that list. It isn't anymore."
I close my eyes, a wave of absolute, crushing guilt washing over me.
This is my fault. If I hadn't walked into that bar, if I hadn't pitched a stupid revenge plot over a martini, Malcolm would still be sitting in this office. He would still be the untouchable CEO. He wouldn't be sitting in the back of a police cruiser, facing arson charges orchestrated by his own father.
"We have to get him out," I say, opening my eyes. I look at Grant, the guilt hardening into a sharp, desperate focus. "If we can't use the drive, how do we get him out?"
"The defense team will attempt to secure bail at the arraignment hearing tomorrow morning. But Preston controls the judge. It is highly likely bail will be denied, citing Malcolm as a flight risk."
"So he just sits in a cell while Preston takes apart the security division?"
"Yes." Grant crosses his arms. "Unless Preston drops the charges."
I stare at him. "Preston set his own house on fire to frame Malcolm. He isn't going to drop the charges."
"He will if he realizes the alternative is worse." Grant looks pointedly at the USB drive in my hand. "Preston believes he neutralized the threat because he believes Malcolm’s credibility is ruined. He doesn't know you have the original files. He assumes Malcolm destroyed them, or that they are locked in a server he can't access."
My brain stalls for a second, processing the logistics.
