Chapter 2 - The Unlikely Ally
The interrogation room smelled of stale coffee and bleach. Detective Ramirez had spent three hours trying to break me, slamming photos of the cash-filled bedroom onto the metal table.
"You stole eighty million dollars from your own investors, Richard," Ramirez sneered. "Your housekeeper was helping you launder it. Sign the confession, and I'll make sure the DA goes easy on her."
"I want my lawyer," I repeated for the twentieth time, my hand instinctively pressing against my chest. The flash drive was still in my pocket; they had only done a cursory pat-down before throwing me in holding.
Suddenly, the heavy metal door swung open. It wasn't Ramirez. It was a man wearing a bespoke Tom Ford suit, carrying a leather briefcase.
Arthur Sterling.
Arthur was my oldest, most ruthless business rival. We had spent the last decade fighting over Los Angeles real estate like two wolves fighting over a carcass.
"What are you doing here, Arthur?" I rasped, exhausted. "Come to gloat?"
"I came to post your bail," Arthur said, dropping a piece of paper on the table. "And Maria's. The DA agreed to a temporary release, provided you surrender your passports."
I stared at him, bewildered. "Why would you help me?"
Arthur sat down, his eyes gleaming with predatory intelligence. "Because Marcus Thorne is an arrogant parasite. He absorbed your empire, and now he's trying to absorb mine. I know you were framed, Richard. I want Marcus destroyed. And you are the only weapon I have left."
May you like
Ten minutes later, Maria and I walked out of the precinct into the blinding morning sun. Arthur’s armored SUV was waiting.
"Get in," Arthur said. "We have a war to plan."
