“And if I don’t?”
Vance’s eyes went dead, his smile vanishing. “If you push this fraud charge, the DOJ will freeze all of your brother’s assets. Including the collateral. Your parents co-signed Grant’s federal loans, Lauren. They signed the surety bonds. If Grant goes down for a felony, the DOJ isn’t just taking his company. They are indicting Warren and Judith Moore for conspiracy to defraud the United States government. They will die in a federal penitentiary.”
I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat.
Vance hit the emergency button again, and the elevator began to descend.
“You have until 9:00 AM tomorrow,” Vance whispered as the doors slid open to the lobby. “Destroy your brother, and you put your elderly mother in a cage. Sleep well, hero.”
Chapter 4: The Binary Box
The hotel room was suffocatingly quiet. I sat on the edge of the bed, the glow of my laptop casting long, jagged shadows against the textured wallpaper. Rain lashed against the glass outside, a chaotic drumbeat matching the pounding in my skull.
