POV: Adrian
"Five minutes!" Agent Morrison shouts into his phone. "Get every available unit to those warehouse locations NOW!"
They release me from handcuffs—there's no time for arrests when a child is about to die.
"I'm coming with you," I say.
"Like hell you are—" Marcus starts.
"I know my mother's patterns!" The words explode out of me. "I know how she thinks! Let me help save Sophie, and then you can throw me in prison for the rest of my life!"
Agent Morrison studies me for three seconds that feel like years.
"Fine. But if you try anything—"
"I won't."
We run for the elevator. Isabelle, Marcus, Agent Morrison, and me—the man who destroyed everything. The elevator ride down feels like falling into hell.
"Three warehouses," Agent Morrison says, pulling up a map on his tablet. "East District, West Port, and Industrial Zone. All identical buildings owned by shell companies."
"She'd choose the one hardest to reach," I say. My mind races through years of my mother's cons. "Somewhere with multiple exits for her escape plan but hard for police to access quickly."
"West Port has water access," Marcus suggests.
"No. Too obvious." I point to Industrial Zone. "There. It's surrounded by abandoned buildings. Confusing layout. Easy to get lost. That's where Mom would hide her."
"You sure?" Agent Morrison asks.
"No. But it's our best guess."
He barks orders into his radio. Three teams dispatch to all locations, but the largest force heads to Industrial Zone.
We pile into cars and speed through the city. Isabelle sits across from me, refusing to meet my eyes.
"Isabelle—"
"Don't talk to me." Her voice is ice. "Just help save Sophie. That's all I want from you."
The words cut deeper than any divorce papers could.
My phone buzzes. A text from a number I don't recognize:
"Adrian, baby, where are you? The police took your mom and I'm scared. We need to run. Meet me at the usual place. -V"
Vanessa. Still thinking we're partners in this. Still believing I'm worth saving.
I delete the message without responding.
We arrive at Industrial Zone with two minutes left. The warehouse looms ahead—rusted metal and broken windows.
"There!" An agent points to flickering light inside.
We crash through the doors and find Sophie exactly where the video showed her—tied to a chair, surrounded by what looks like bombs.
Except they're not bombs.
"They're fakes," the bomb squad leader announces after thirty seconds of inspection. "Movie props. Completely harmless."
Sophie sobs with relief as they cut her free.
"It was a distraction," Marcus breathes. "The kidnapping, the bombs, all of it—just to keep us busy while—"
His phone rings. The family estate.
He answers on speaker. "Yes?"
"Mr. Ashford?" It's the head of estate security. His voice shakes. "Someone broke into the main vault. They had all the codes. They took everything—jewels, cash, bonds. At least two hundred million in assets."
The world stops spinning.
"When?" Marcus demands.
"Twenty minutes ago. Right when the FBI arrested Mrs. Kane."
Agent Morrison's face goes white. "She had a partner. Someone who knew exactly when to strike."
"Who?" I ask. But even as the question leaves my mouth, I know.
We all know.
"Vanessa," Isabelle whispers.
My phone buzzes again. Another text from Vanessa:
"Thanks for the distraction, baby. By the time you read this, I'll be on a plane with more money than you ever dreamed of. Your mom was smart, but she made one mistake—she trusted you. I didn't. I played you both. Enjoy prison. -V"
Below the message is a photo.
Vanessa on a private jet, surrounded by stacks of jewelry and cash. Smiling. Free.
"She was the real mastermind," I breathe. "The whole time. Mom thought she was running the con, but Vanessa was playing us all."
"How long?" Isabelle's voice cracks. "How long has she been planning this?"
Agent Morrison is already typing frantically. "According to financial records... Vanessa Cole has been transferring small amounts from various Ashford accounts for eighteen months. Small enough no one noticed. Building a nest egg while pretending to be your friend."
"She befriended me to rob my family," Isabelle says flatly. "And slept with my husband to keep me distracted and broken."
"Not just that." Morrison shows us more records. "She's been blackmailing your family lawyer for two years. She's the one who stole the files about your fake disability. She's been collecting leverage on everyone."
"Where is she now?" Marcus demands.
"Her phone last pinged at the private airstrip. But that was fifteen minutes ago. She could be anywhere by now."
We lost. We saved Sophie, but we lost everything else.
I sink onto a crate, the weight of my choices crushing me. "This is my fault. All of it. If I hadn't been so easy to manipulate—"
"Oh, you were very easy to manipulate," a new voice says.
We all spin around.
Standing in the warehouse doorway, no longer bound to a chair, looking perfectly calm and holding a gun, is Sophie.
Seventeen-year-old Sophie Ashford. Marcus's baby cousin. The victim we just saved.
Except she's not acting like a victim anymore.
"Surprise," she says with a smile that looks nothing like a scared teenager. "Did you really think Vanessa was smart enough to plan this alone?"
The gun points directly at Isabelle.
"Sophie?" Marcus's voice breaks. "What are you doing?"
"What I've been doing for three years—playing the innocent little cousin while stealing you all blind." She laughs. "Vanessa was the distraction. Your mother was the scapegoat, Adrian. But me?" She taps her temple. "I'm the mastermind."
"You're seventeen—" I start.
"I'm twenty-four. Fake birth certificate. Another one of Mom's old tricks before she got sloppy and went to prison." Sophie—or whoever she really is—smirks. "I've been running cons since I was twelve. The Ashford family adopted me, never checking my background. Free access to billions. It was perfect."
"We loved you," Isabelle whispers.
"I know. That's what made it so easy." She checks her watch. "Vanessa has the jewels. I have the bonds. Together, we're splitting three hundred million. By tomorrow, we'll be on a beach somewhere that doesn't extradite."
"You won't get away with this," Agent Morrison says, hand moving toward his weapon.
"Already have." Sophie smiles. "Because in about thirty seconds, this warehouse really does explode. Unlike the fake bombs, these ones under your feet are very real. Goodbye, family. It's been fun."
She runs.
Agents chase her, but she's fast.
"EVERYBODY OUT!" Morrison screams.
We run for the exits, but I hear it—the beeping. Getting faster.
Twenty seconds.
Fifteen.
We're not going to make it.
"There!" Marcus points to a side door.
We crash through it and keep running. The warehouse behind us glows orange.
Ten seconds.
Five.
I grab Isabelle and pull her behind a concrete barrier just as the world explodes.
The blast throws us forward. Heat sears my back. Debris rains down.
When the ringing in my ears stops, I'm lying on top of Isabelle, shielding her body with mine.
She's alive. Breathing. Covered in dust but alive.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She shoves me off violently. "Don't touch me."
Around us, agents pick themselves up. Sophie is gone. Vanessa is gone. Three hundred million dollars is gone.
And somehow, lying in the rubble of an explosion caused by people I trusted, I realize I've lost something worth more than any amount of money.
I lost the only person who ever really loved me.
Agent Morrison's phone rings. He answers, listens, and his face goes pale.
"What?" Marcus demands.
"Sophie and Vanessa's plane just took off from a private airstrip outside the city. By the time we get clearance to ground it, they'll be in international airspace."
"So they won," Isabelle says quietly. "They took everything and won."
"Not everything." Morrison shows us his phone. "We froze the accounts they transferred the money to. We have their photos, prints, DNA. They can run, but they can't hide forever."
"But for now, they're free," I say.
"For now."
Sirens wail in the distance. Paramedics rush toward us.
And my phone buzzes one last time.
A text from a new number:
"Adrian, this is your mother. I'm texting from the FBI holding cell. Sophie fooled us all, but I have information that can help catch her. Information I'll only share if you do something for me first. Get me a deal with the prosecutor, and I'll tell you where Sophie and Vanessa are really heading. You have one hour to decide. After that, they disappear forever."
I stare at the message.
My mother—the woman who turned me into a monster—is offering me a chance at redemption.
But it means working with her. Trusting her one more time.
"What is it?" Isabelle asks, seeing my face.
I show her the message.
She reads it and her jaw clenches. "It's a trap. Everything with your mother is a trap."
"Probably," I agree. "But what if it's not? What if this is our only chance to get your family's money back and put Sophie and Vanessa in prison?"
Marcus snatches my phone. "You can't seriously be considering this."
"I'm considering that I owe your family everything. And if working with my psychotic mother is the price for fixing even a fraction of what I destroyed, then I'll pay it."
Agent Morrison looks between us. "It's your call, Miss Ashford. Do we trust her?"
Everyone turns to Isabelle.
The woman I destroyed.
The queen I treated like garbage.
She's covered in dust and blood, shaking from shock, surrounded by the ruins of her family's fortune.
And she's the only one who can decide if we trust the devil one more time.
"Isabelle?" I whisper. "Please. Let me try to fix this. It's the only thing I can do."
She stares at me for a long moment.
Then she reaches for my phone.