Chapter 557
Chapter 557:
She swallowed.
“Lucian… is still out there p>
The coffee shop across from the precinct was a twenty-four-hour diner that smelled of bacon grease and despair. It was the kind of place where cops drank mud-thick coffee and criminals waited for their lawyers.
Skye sat in a vinyl booth that had a strip of duct tape repairing a tear in the red seat. She wrapped her hands around a ceramic mug, letting the heat seep into her cold fingers.
Liam sat opposite her. He looked out of place in his bespoke suit, even if it was rumpled and bloodstained. He was staring into his black coffee as if it held the secrets of the universe.
“I want to make a deal,” Liam said without preamble.
Skye raised an eyebrow. “I think we’re past the negotiation phase, Liam. You have nothing I want p>
“I have the manor,” Liam said.
Skye paused. Kensington Manor. The sprawling estate that had been the seat of his family’s power for a century. The place where she had been miserable. The place Beatrice valued more than her own soul.
“I own the deed,” Liam continued, pulling a thick envelope from his jacket pocket. He slid it across the sticky table. “And I’m signing over thirty percent of my voting shares in Kensington Global to Oracle Holdings p>
Skye didn’t touch the envelope. She looked at him, searching for the trap. “Why p>
“Because I need to buy something from you,” Liam said. His eyes finally met hers. They were empty of the arrogance she used to hate. Now, they were just tired. And hard.
“What?” Skye asked.
“Two things,” Liam held up two fingers. “First, Beatrice. I want the criminal charges dropped p>
Skye scoffed. “She tried to kill me. She poisoned you p>
“If she goes to prison, it becomes a circus,” Liam said. “The trial will drag on for years. She’ll play the victim. The press will eat it up. I don’t want that. I want her gone p>
“Gone where p>
𝘖𝘱𝘵𝗂𝘮а𝗅 rеаdіng 𝘦хр𝘦𝗿𝗂𝖾ո𝘤e 𝗼𝗻 𝗯e.𝗰𝘰𝗆
“I’ve arranged for a private competency hearing,” Liam said. “My lawyers have convinced the judge that her actions—the poisoning, the conspiracy—are the result of advanced dementia. She’s being transferred to a secure geriatric facility in the Swiss Alps tomorrow. It’s not a prison, legally, but she will never be allowed to leave. She’ll be medicated, isolated, and forgotten p>
Skye considered it. Prison was punishment, but exile? For a woman like Beatrice, who thrived on control and social standing, being locked away in obscurity was a fate worse than death.
“And the second thing?” Skye asked.
“Sienna,” Liam said. The name came out like a curse. “I want you to drop the kidnapping charges against her p>
Skye slammed her mug down. Coffee sloshed over the rim. “Are you insane? She confessed! She helped Lucian p>
“The fraud and embezzlement charges regarding the fake charity she set up will stick,” Liam said calmly. “But I need you to drop the conspiracy charges related to your kidnapping. If you do, I can post her bail on the remaining financial crimes p>
“You want to free her?” Skye looked at him with disbelief. “After everything? Do you still love her p>