Chapter 25
Ramsey~
W hen Maddox had hacked into the prison system to transfer Emerson’s father into general population, getting him killed, he’d only been sixteen-years-old, and she’d gotten him a Lotus Evija. That’d been the first and only time that I’d ever seen Emerson spend that kind of money on something so frivolous, and Maddox had driven the car until he’d had no choice but to buy a new one.
Well, with what I had in the envelope in my hands, Maddox definitely deserved another car. However, since he could easily afford an expensive vehicle of his own, a jet might be warranted this time around. Even though he’d never collect, I owed my son big time. What he had managed to get for me, I never would have found on my own.
Maddox had also been able to get me the code to Adrian Cossacks’ home security system, and that was the downfall of advanced technology. With people like Maddox walking the planet, a good old-fashioned deadbolt was a lot safer than a simple electronic keypad. Cossacks’ fancy alarm system was tied in with the doorknobs of his home, and five seconds of convenience really wasn’t worth it.
So, thanks to my youngest son, I was currently sitting in Adrian Cossacks’ living room after having taken a tour of his home, the place rather nondescript, which I’d been expecting. As soon as Maddox had given me the goods on Cossacks, I’d gone over everything a million times, finally texting Emerson that I’d be home late tonight. Used to my crazy hours, she hadn’t asked me why, and while that shouldn’t have upset me, it’d had because we were still fighting.
I snapped out of my musings when I heard the familiar beeps of a keypad being pressed, and it was utterly immature how giddy I felt right now. I was about to fillet this motherfucker alive, and I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d felt this excited about doing something like this.
Leaning back in the armchair that Cossacks had next to his fireplace, I waited for him to turn on the lights to notice me. When he finally did, his entire body froze, and there was nothing quite like having clueless prey in your crosshairs.
“What…how did you get in here?”
“How I got in here is the least of your worries, Cossacks,” I told him as I tossed the manilla envelope that I’d been holding in my hands onto the coffee table. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about whether or not I can afford a good attorney.”
His head jerked back a bit in angry surprise. “What are you talking about?”
I stood up from the chair, then refastened my suit jacket. “I warned you that I’d expose all your secrets if you didn’t stay away from my wife,” I replied coolly. “You should have listened, Cossacks.”
He started shaking his head frantically. “You can’t possibly know-”
“That you’ve embezzled a combined three-million dollars from your two previous jobs?” His face paled drastically, and it really was a euphoric feeling to play with your enemies before you crushed them under your power. “I gotta tell you, not many people are forgiving when it comes to someone stealing from children, Cossacks.”
“There’s no way that you can know that,” he replied insistently.
“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong,” I chuckled darkly.
He started shaking his head again. “Even if you…even if you did find something, you can’t prove it. You can’t prove anything.”
I jerked my head towards the envelope. “What do you think is in there? My resumé?”
His jaw ticked, and it couldn’t be fun to find out that you weren’t as smart as you’d always believed. “Then you had to have hacked into my bank accounts,” he spat. “That’s illegal.”
I was momentarily nonplussed.
Was this asshole serious?
“You’re sitting on three-million dollars of stolen charity money, and you want to talk to me about illegal activities?” I finally countered. “Are you serious?”
“You can’t make this public without it blowing up in your face,” he said, grasping at straws. “You’ll end up in jail right along with me for international hacking.”
“That’d be true if I’d been the one doing the hacking,” I agreed. “However, since it wasn’t me, I can hardly be held accountable for some random information that came my way. In fact, being the upstanding citizen that I am, I might even be considered a hero for bringing this to the attention of the authorities. After all, what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t protect my wife and the organization that she works for from people like you?”
“I’ll simply tell the police that you have a vendetta against me because of Emerson,” he threatened. “I have the proof on my face.” Suddenly, he straightened, looking smug as the plan began to develop in his mind. “I’ll charge you with assault, and they have cameras in the CPS parking lot to back me up. It’ll be my word against yours.”
“Do you honestly think that I’m smart enough to get the goods on you, but also too stupid to make sure that the security feed in the CPS parking lot wasn’t erased?” I drawled out, sounding bored.
He looked like he wanted to shoot me dead. “There’s still the proof on my face.”
“Yes, there is,” I agreed. “But since we’re on the subject of proof, you might want to open that envelope to get a better handle on what all we’re discussing here. After all, if you think that the only thing in there are some bank statements that equal three-million dollars of missing money, then you’re more stupid than I’d originally given you credit for.”
Cossacks’ eyes widened, and that was when that calming feeling really settled in my chest. I loved watching when all the cards came crashing down around my enemies. I loved that moment when they realized that it really was over for them, and this was Cossacks’ moment as he reached for the envelope, then started ripping it open.
I waited patiently as he emptied the contents, documents and photos raining down on the coffee table, his secrets no longer his own. They now belonged to me, and tomorrow morning, they were going to belong to the entire fucking world. After all, there was no escaping the internet, something that a lot of people had found out the hard way.
“No,” he choked out as he began sifting through everything. “No…you can’t…there’s no way that anyone…no…no…”
“All three of them were sixteen, Cossacks,” I said, not that he needed reminding. “The age of consent in California is eighteen, and even then, if they’re still in high school, that’s an abuse of power, and you don’t need me to tell you how society frowns upon that these days.”
He dropped on the couch as his fear-stricken gaze shot my way. “You can’t…you can’t do this.”
“You should have stayed away from my wife, Cossacks,” I replied coldly, not caring that I was about to ruin his life.
“But she didn’t even reciprocate!” he yelled in a panic.
“Which is the only reason that you’re still alive,” I pointed out. “Had my wife been tempted in any way, I would have killed you with my bare hands.”
“You can’t do this,” he repeated, damn near close to sobbing. “You can’t…I’ll never be able to…” He shook his head in pure horror and disbelief. “This will…”
“What?” I taunted. “Ruin you? Honestly, you deserve a lot worse than what’s coming for you, Cossacks. You took advantage of vulnerable young girls, and only a sick fuck does something like that and is able to still live with himself. You took jobs that put you in charge of susceptible children, and you manipulated them for your own sick gratification, and if you think that you don’t deserve to rot in Hell for something so deliberate, you’re wrong.”
“You can’t do this!” he yelled desperately.
I stormed over to where he was sitting, reached down, then hauled him up by his shirt before swinging on him again, hitting him hard enough that he flipped over the back of the couch. Though I wanted to beat the life out of him, I knew that I couldn’t, so this was just to prove a point.
Racing over to the other side of the couch, I grabbed him off the floor before he could make a run for it. Hauling him to his feet, I said, “By the time that I’m done with you, there will be nothing left to save, Cossacks. Everyone is going to know you for what you really are, and once your new buddies in prison find out that you like them young and vulnerable, you’re going to wish that you never crossed paths with my wife. You’re going to be sorrier than you ever thought possible.”
“I’m sorry!” he cried, genuine panic stripping him of his pride.
I shook him once more before shoving him back to the floor. “You should have stayed the fuck away from my wife,” I repeated. “We both tried to warn you, and now you’re going to learn the hard way why not to fuck with a Reed.”
With one last look, I turned my back on him, then exited the same way that I had entered, not worried about any digital proof of my visit. Maddox didn’t have a secret war room in his house for nothing, so the last thing that I was worried about was any of this coming back on me. In fact, I no longer had any worries at all.
Well, except for one.