My husband’s mistress locked me inside a hospital room, beat me while I was thirty-three weeks pregnant, and tried to force me to surrender my marriage, my company, and my unborn child. She thought my father was a harmless mechanic—until one phone call revealed he was the most powerful anonymous mafia boss in the world. / Chapter 13 / 40

Chapter 13 - The Confession of the Pawn|

Inside the back of the black sedan, Dr. Kessler sat shaking uncontrollably, surrounded by Marcus’s tactical team.

Amara Vale sat across from him, a digital recorder resting on her knee.

“Start speaking, Dr. Kessler,” Amara ordered coldly. “Everything you know about Silas Vance’s arrangement with Kade Capital and the defense contract.”

Kessler wiped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief, trembling.

“Silas is in debt to an international defense syndicate called The Apex Group!” Kessler babbled hysterically. “He borrowed fifty million dollars from them four years ago to fund Vance Dynamics’ expansion! When the debt came due, Silas couldn't pay it back!”

I listened to the live audio feed from my medical transport vehicle, my hands clenching into tight fists.

“So Apex offered him a deal,” Kessler continued rapidly. “They promised to forgive his debt and give him a two-hundred-million-dollar bonus if he placed a back-door vulnerability into the military encryption software!”

“And where did Odalys Crane fit into this?” Amara pressed.

“Odalys is Apex’s handler!” Kessler revealed. “She wasn't just Silas’s mistress—she was sent by Apex to ensure Silas fulfilled his end of the bargain! When Mara discovered the Kade Capital accounts, Odalys realized Mara was going to ruin the entire deal!”

“So they planned to eliminate me,” I said quietly into my microphone, my voice echoing through the car speakers.

Kessler flinched at the sound of my voice.

“Yes!” Kessler sobbed into the mic. “Silas was going to use the separation agreement to strip your voting rights. Then, Dr. Malcolm Reeve—a psychiatrist bought off by Apex—was going to certify you as mentally incapacitated! Once you were committed to an asylum, Silas would take full legal custody of your baby and control of your shares!”

The monstrous scope of their plot left me completely breathless.

They hadn't just tried to break my body. They had built an inescapable legal cage designed to destroy my entire existence and turn my child into a bargaining chip for a foreign defense syndicate.

My father’s voice cut through the heavy silence of the vehicle.

“Is the recording secure, Amara?” Marcus asked.

“Fully encrypted and backed up to three secure servers, sir,” Amara confirmed.

Marcus turned his cold gaze back onto Dr. Kessler.