ALLEN
I watched the FBI agents move through the boardroom, but the satisfaction I expected was hollow. Anastasia wasn't crying; she was whispering to her lawyer. And my father? He wasn't looking at the floor in shame. He was staring at me with a cold, terrifying smile.
"You think a few encrypted files are enough to topple me, Allen?" Doncan Cross stood up, smoothing his tie even as a lead agent placed a hand on his shoulder. "I built the system these men work for. I am the system."
"The evidence is irrefutable, Dad," I said, but my heart skipped a beat.
"Evidence is only as good as the witness who provides it," Doncan countered. He looked toward the door.
A man entered. It wasn't Silas. It was a high-ranking official from the Department of Justice—someone I recognized from my father's private holiday parties.
"Agent Miller," the official said, addressing the lead FBI agent. "There's been a jurisdictional update. The Cross files are now classified under a National Security directive due to Apex's government contracts. You are to stand down. All materials are to be handed over to my office immediately."
I felt the blood drain from my face. My father hadn't just predicted this; he had pre-empted it. He had a "Get Out of Jail Free" card signed by the highest levels of the government.
"You're letting him go?" I roared, stepping forward. "He forged documents! He endangered a child!"
"The matter will be handled internally, Mr. Cross," the official said, his voice as cold as a tombstone.
Anastasia smirked at me as she was un-handcuffed. "Better luck next time, Allen. Though I doubt there will be a next time for you. The board is still meeting at five. And now, they have a very good reason to believe you've gone rogue."
CELESTE
I waited in the hallway, expecting to see the villains led away in chains. Instead, the doors opened, and they walked out—free.
My mother stopped in front of me, her eyes like daggers. "You thought you could win, Celeste? You're just a girl from Brooklyn with a child who doesn't belong. We are the Lawsons. We don't lose. We just change the rules."
"Get away from her," Allen's voice boomed. He stepped out of the boardroom, his face a mask of fury and exhaustion.
The Lawsons laughed and walked toward the elevators, flanked by their lawyers. Anastasia followed, blowing a mocking kiss toward Allen before the gold doors slid shut.
The hallway was suddenly quiet, save for the sound of Gabriel's soft breathing in my arms.
"They got away," I whispered, the weight of the realization crashing down on me. "After everything you did... they just walked out."
"They didn't win, Celeste," Allen said, though he looked like he'd aged ten years in a single night. "They just bought themselves time. But we can't stay here. The board will move to seize my personal assets within the hour. They'll freeze my accounts. They'll try to starve us out."
"Where do we go?"
"We go to the one place my father can't touch with a phone call," Allen said, his eyes turning toward the window. "The Vance estate. Leo is the only one left who can shield us while we rebuild."
ALLEN
I looked at the woman I loved and the son I had just found. I had thought the battle was over, but I was wrong. This wasn't a sprint; it was a siege.
I had to be a rebel. I had to learn how to fight from the outside.
"Celeste," I said, taking her hand. "I'm going to lose the penthouse. I'm going to lose the cars. I might even lose the name Cross."
"I don't care about any of that," she said, her voice stronger than mine. "I've lived with nothing before. I can do it again. As long as we have him." She looked down at Gabriel.
"We have him," I promised. "And now, we have a common enemy. My father thinks he's the king of this city. Let's show him what happens when the king loses his crown, but keeps his sword."
I pulled out my phone and sent a single text to Leo Vance:
The Ice King is out. The war is on. I need the safe house.