Chapter 21: The Voice from the Cell
She froze. Julian was supposed to be in Colorado.
"Did you really think Vanguard operated without my blessing?" his voice purred through the speakers, dripping with his signature arrogance. "I orchestrated this from my cell. The federal prosecutors offered me a deal. I give them Vanguard, they let me walk. But Vanguard offered me a better deal. I give them you, and they bust me out."
The betrayal cut deeper than any knife. The entire legal collapse, the "Financial Execution of the Century"—it was all a facade. The game had never stopped; the board had just been tilted.
