Chapter 407
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Chapter 407:
“Initiate the financial kill protocols on Cory Schneider,” Gaston commanded. “Locate and freeze every hidden offshore trust and cryptocurrency wallet under his name. I want him financially erased within twenty-four hours p>
He stared out the tinted window, his eyes flat and dead.
Jocelyn leaned her head back against the plush leather seat. She listened to her husband casually dismantle a man’s financial existence.
She did not feel an ounce of fear. Instead, a deep, profound warmth spread through her chest. Her muscles relaxed completely. She knew, with absolute certainty, that as long as this man was breathing, she would never have to look over her shoulder again.
𝖣𝗂s𝗰оve𝘳 𝘩𝘪d𝖽𝖾ո 𝘨е𝘮𝘀 оn.с𝗈𝘮
The afternoon sky over Manhattan was a dull, heavy grey.
Jocelyn walked out of the elevator on the top floor of a luxury apartment building in Chelsea, carrying a cardboard tray with two steaming cups of Blue Bottle oat milk lattes.
She stopped in front of Carmen’s door and pressed the buzzer.
Silence.
Jocelyn frowned. She pressed it two more times, holding her finger down longer.
Finally, the deadbolt clicked. The heavy door slowly swung open.
Jocelyn’s stomach dropped.
Carmen stood in the doorway wearing a wrinkled, stained silk pajama set. Her usually immaculate hair was a tangled, greasy mess. Her cheekbones jutted out sharply, and her eyes were sunken deep into her skull, ringed by dark, bruised circles. She looked like a woman who had been drained of everything.
The apartment behind her was pitch black. Every blackout curtain was drawn tight, suffocating the space in a heavy, oppressive darkness. The air smelled stale — unwashed sheets and pure despair.
Jocelyn pushed past her, walked to the kitchen, and set the coffee tray down on the marble island. She turned immediately, took Carmen’s freezing, trembling hands in hers, and said nothing for a moment.
Carmen did not resist. She drifted back toward the living room like a ghost and collapsed onto the sofa, pulling her knees tightly to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Her body shook with tiny, uncontrollable tremors.
“Carmen, what is going on?” Jocelyn asked softly, sitting down right beside her. “You missed the quarterly financial review this morning. You are never late p>
Carmen slowly turned her head. Her eyes were completely hollow, devoid of any light.
“I had a baby,” Carmen rasped. Her throat sounded like it was lined with glass.
Jocelyn froze. Her brain struggled to process the words. She stared at Carmen, uncertain whether her friend was having a stress-induced hallucination.
Carmen’s trembling hand reached under the sofa cushion. She pulled out a crumpled stack of printed papers and shoved them toward Jocelyn. “Justin’s people already tried to wipe my devices,” she whispered, her voice raw and paranoid. “I knew they would. The moment I downloaded this, I made a dozen copies and hid them in a safe deposit box. This is the last one I kept here p>
Jocelyn took the papers and squinted in the dim light, scanning the black text.
Emergency Cesarean section. Male infant. Vitals stable.
The words hit her like a physical slap. Her jaw dropped.