Chapter 112

Ryan's eyes shifted.

His lips moved, but no complete word came out.

The woman leaned over him.

"And now your sister says you need people to take care of you. So here we are."

A cold smile touched her face.

"We'll make sure you're very well looked after."

Ryan stared at her.

There was nothing he could do.

He couldn't sit up. He could barely move his head. Even speaking required more strength than he had.

The husband and wife stood beside his bed for another moment before finally stepping away.

The rest of the night passed painfully slowly.

Hours later, three heavy knocks broke the silence.

Ryan's bloodshot eyes snapped open.

He stared toward the door.

Before he could make a sound, it opened.

The people who entered weren't nurses.

Two uniformed officers stepped into the room, followed by several plainclothes detectives. Their expressions made it immediately clear that this wasn't a routine visit.

One of the older detectives walked to Ryan's bedside.

"Ryan Foster."

He produced a folded document and held it where Ryan could see it.

"We have a warrant for your arrest."

Ryan stared at him.

The detective continued.

"Six years ago, you attended an illegal street-racing event. You drove a heavily modified Lamborghini without a valid license while intoxicated and at an extreme rate of speed."

Ryan's face slowly drained of color.

"You struck a nine-year-old boy in a crosswalk."

The room went still.

"He died at the scene."

Ryan's breathing changed.

The detective didn't stop.

"Afterward, someone else claimed responsibility for the crash. That individual has now given investigators a full statement identifying you as the driver and describing the efforts made to conceal your involvement."

One of the uniformed officers stepped forward.

Ryan was obviously in no condition to go anywhere, but the officer nevertheless secured a restraint to the metal rail beside the bed.

The meaning was unmistakable.

He was no longer merely a patient.

He was under arrest.

Ryan stared at the restraint.

No.

That case was over.

It had been over for six years.

Someone had gone to prison for him. Money had changed hands, people had been paid, and the Foster family had used every connection available to bury what really happened.

But once investigators reopened the case, all of it could be examined again—payments, phone records, meetings, and people who no longer had any reason to stay quiet.

The detective's voice remained flat.

"The case has been reopened. You're facing charges connected to the fatal crash, leaving the scene, and the subsequent effort to obstruct the investigation. Additional charges may follow as the investigation continues."

Ryan stared at him in horror.

His eyes moved toward the two caregivers near the door.

The husband and wife were watching silently.

Neither looked surprised.

They had known.

Ryan understood that immediately.

They stepped away from the bed, leaving the officers the room.

Then one of the plainclothes detectives spoke.

"There's something else you should know."

Ryan looked toward him.

"Your sister has provided investigators with internal Foster records relevant to the original cover-up, including financial documents and corporate records. She is cooperating with the investigation."

Ryan stopped breathing for a moment.

That was it.

No one in the Foster family was coming to save him.

His sister wasn't merely refusing to protect him.

She was helping dismantle the network that had protected him six years ago.

Several of the people implicated were longtime loyalists of their grandfather—exactly the kind of old guard his sister had wanted out of the company for years.

She was using this opportunity to remove all of them at once.

Ryan's eyes slowly lost focus.

The older detective turned toward one of the officers.

"Coordinate with hospital security. Until he's medically cleared for transfer, he remains under guard. Medical personnel and authorized investigators only."

"Yes, Detective."

The detective looked back at Ryan.

His voice was quieter when he spoke again.

"The parents of the boy you killed have been waiting six years for this."

Ryan stared at him.

"They don't have to wait anymore."

By the time the hotel gathering ended, snow was still falling over the city.

Victoria walked through the lobby and climbed into the waiting car, her thoughts fixed on Rynex Technologies.

Once the doors closed, she raised the privacy partition.

Then she turned toward Michael.

"Michael."

Her assistant immediately straightened.

"Yes, Miss Sterling?"

Victoria took out her encrypted tablet and opened several financial records.

"Contact the team we've used before."

Michael's expression changed slightly.

"I want them to prepare the capital we can access through the private structures we already have."

She turned the tablet toward him.

"And I want a substantial position in Rynex built before the acquisition becomes public."

Michael stared at her.

For several seconds, he genuinely wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"Miss Sterling..."

Victoria's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Michael chose his words carefully.

"If the information you received concerns an unannounced acquisition, trading on it could create a very serious problem."

"I know what it is."

"That isn't my only concern."

Michael lowered his voice.

"A sudden pattern of buying before a major acquisition announcement is exactly the kind of activity market-surveillance systems look for. Using intermediaries doesn't make the underlying problem disappear."

Victoria's expression cooled.

"Michael."

He stopped.

She placed the tablet on the center console with a sharp crack.

"Have you spent so long working around the Consortium that you've forgotten who you work for?"

Michael said nothing.

No. That particular detail was very clear to him.

Victoria leaned slightly closer.

"I know the risks. And the people I'm asking you to contact have handled transactions far more complicated than this."

Michael kept his expression perfectly neutral.

Victoria clearly believed she understood the risk.

Michael was considerably less convinced.

"I'm not asking for your opinion," she continued. "I'm telling you to contact them."

A brief silence followed.

Then Michael nodded.

"I'll speak with the team tonight."

Victoria studied him.

"And Michael?"

"Yes?"

"If a word of this gets out, I'll know exactly where to look."

Her meaning was obvious.

Michael sat a little straighter, his expression turning solemn.

"You don't have to worry, Miss Sterling. I won't betray you."

Victoria seemed satisfied.

Michael looked forward again.

Betrayal was an interesting choice of word.

He had never considered himself hers in the first place.

Outside, snow swept through the city streets beneath the glow of traffic lights and storefronts.

Victoria leaned back against the seat.

In her mind, the path ahead had suddenly become simple.

If the Rynex deal went through, the profit could give her exactly what she needed: a dramatic result, enough capital to open new doors, and proof that she could play the same game as the people who sat at the highest levels of finance.

Most importantly, Richard would have to see that she was capable.

For the first time in days, Victoria felt certain she had found her way back.

The following morning, long before most of the city was awake, automated market-surveillance systems were already processing the first trading activity of the day.

Rynex Technologies had attracted little unusual attention for months.

That began to change.

New buying appeared.

Individually, the transactions were unremarkable. Taken together, however, their timing and behavior stood out against the stock's recent trading history.

The surveillance system continued comparing the activity against account histories and other risk indicators.

Something didn't fit.

No investigator rushed into an office.

No alarm sounded.

No trading account was immediately frozen.

A flag simply appeared in the system.

ANOMALOUS ACTIVITY — FURTHER REVIEW

Nothing happened.

Not yet.

The system simply kept watching as the pattern continued to form.