Chapter 18 - THE THREAT AGAINST THE COURT
The federal protection service moved my father to a secure location.
He refused to go until Grace and I were protected.
I refused to leave the hospital until Grace could be transported safely.
For twelve hours, we argued like two people who loved each other and believed sacrifice was the only language available.
Finally, the doctors approved a guarded transfer.
Grace was moved to a military medical center.
No public record showed the location.
My father joined us there.
For the first time since Christmas, the three of us slept in the same building without David’s shadow over the door.
Marcus contacted the Court the next morning.
He sent a video.
The Jefferson Circle server stood behind him.
Rows of drives blinked beneath fluorescent lights.
Marcus wore gloves and a bulletproof vest.
“Chief Justice Hale has spent his career pretending law is stronger than power.”
“It is not.”
He demanded that my father resign.
He demanded federal charges against David and Sylvia be reduced.
He demanded immunity for every member of the Circle who surrendered voluntarily.
If the demands were not met, he would release manipulated files showing that my father accepted bribes in multiple cases.
The files were false.
But false evidence released at the right moment could still destroy public trust.
My father watched the video twice.
Then he called the attorney general.
“I will not negotiate.”
I looked at him.
“Marcus may come after you.”
“He already has.”
“What if he releases the files?”
“Then I will answer them.”
“What if people believe him?”
“Public service cannot depend on being loved.”
I understood the words.
I hated them anyway.
Agent Mendoza traced a signal from the video.
An industrial complex outside Baltimore.
Federal teams moved in.
They found an empty warehouse.
Only one server drive remained.
It contained a live video feed.
Marcus was watching us through cameras hidden somewhere inside the military hospital.
Security searched every room.
They found a camera in the smoke detector above Grace’s bed.
Another inside a wall clock.
A third inside my father’s coat button.
Someone had replaced it during his transfer.
Marcus called my private room.
I answered.
“Anna.”
His voice was smooth.
Older than David’s.
Colder.
“You were never supposed to survive Christmas.”
“You underestimated me.”
“No.”
“I underestimated your father’s willingness to expose himself.”
“What do you want?”
“A final exchange.”
“The server for Jonathan Hale.”
I looked through the window.
My father was holding Grace.
He had no idea who was on the phone.
Marcus continued.
“Midnight.”
“The old Supreme Court records annex.”
“Come alone.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will watch your father’s reputation die before sunrise.”
I lowered my voice.
“You made one mistake.”
May you like
“What?”
“You still think reputation is the thing we love most.”
