Chapter 68: The Perfect Leverage
Grace hadn’t slept.
She’d closed her eyes sometime after two, drifted for what couldn’t have been more than an hour, then woken again to the silence of her apartment and the weight pressing against her chest.
Thursday.The word had circled her mind for days.She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the pale light creeping through the curtains. Her phone rested face down on the nightstand, untouched.
She didn’t need to check it. She already knew what waited there. Rowena would have messaged. Evelyn would be expecting her. And Liam would probably tell her, once again, that the decision had to be hers.
That was what made it so difficult. No one was forcing her anymore. The choice belonged entirely to her. Somehow, that was even more frightening.
She reached for her phone. The screen lit up.
Rowena – 7:08 A.M.
Morning. I’ll leave in thirty minutes. If you’ve changed your mind, just tell me. No pressure.
Grace stared at the message for a long moment. Her thumb hovered over the keyboard. She typed three different replies. Deleted every one. Finally, she locked the phone without answering.
The apartment felt smaller than usual. Her eyes wandered across the familiar furniture until they settled on an old photograph sitting on the bookshelf.
She crossed the room and picked it up. It had been taken years ago. Damien couldn’t have been more than twelve, grinning with two missing front teeth, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders after winning some school football tournament.
Back then he still laughed with her. Back then he still reached for her hand without thinking.
A faint smile touched her lips. Then faded.She traced the edge of the frame with her thumb. "I miss you," she whispered.The apartment offered no reply.
Her phone vibrated again. This time it wasn’t Rowena.
[Damien]
Her heart skipped. She answered immediately. ...Hello? Silence, for just a second. Then Damien spoke. "I can’t make dinner tonight."Grace blinked. "Dinner?"
"You’ve asked me three times already."Oh. She hadn’t expected him to call back at all. "I wasn’t calling about tonight," she said softly. "I just wanted to hear your voice."
Another silence.I’ve been busy.I know.You don’t have to keep checking on me."Grace closed her eyes. "I know." I am going to meet a friend just wanted to make sure you are okay.
Neither of them spoke. The conversation felt like standing on opposite sides of a river that neither knew how to cross.
Finally Damien sighed. "I’ve got to go."Damien...Yeah?I hope you’re taking care of yourself.The line went dead.
Grace lowered the phone slowly. It hadn’t been a good conversation. But it hadn’t been a fight either. Lately, that almost counted as progress.
She smiled to herself. Small. Fragile. Hopeful.
Maybe there had been something different in Damien’s voice. Not warmth. Not forgiveness. But he hadn’t hung up immediately.
For the first time in months, she’d managed to say more than a handful of words before the silence swallowed them again.
She took a slow breath. Then reached for her coat.Rowena was waiting downstairs. She glanced at Grace as she climbed into the passenger seat. "You almost canceled."
Grace gave a tired smile. "Was it that obvious?"You didn’t answer my message.
The engine started. Traffic was already beginning to thicken as they pulled onto the main road. For several minutes neither woman spoke.
Finally Grace broke the silence. "I talked to Damien."Rowena looked over briefly. "How’d it go?"Grace laughed softly. "I’m not sure. He answered. That’s something."
He said he couldn’t have dinner. And?"And..." Grace looked out the window. "He didn’t sound angry."
Rowena nodded once. He might be changing and wants to come back.Grace wanted to believe that. She really did.
The rest of the drive passed mostly in silence, rain clouds gathering over the city, the afternoon light turning gray long before sunset. Wipers swept lazily every few minutes as a light drizzle started to fall.
"So," Grace said eventually, "does Liam always sound that certain?"Rowena kept her eyes on the road. "Dunno". Grace looked over.
"He sounds certain when he wants other people to stop doubting themselves." A faint smile crossed Rowena’s face.
"The truth is, he’s probably carrying as many doubts as the rest of us. He’s just better at deciding they aren’t useful."Grace thought about that for a while. "I used to be like that."
What changed?"Harrison."Nothing more needed to be said.
Liam arrived ten minutes after they did, straight from the cafe, he had been careful not to be followed by anyone.
Evelyn opened the door before he knocked. "You look tired."I’ve looked worse.
"You have."For the first time in days, Liam smiled. Only slightly. It disappeared almost immediately.Is she here?
Evelyn nodded. "Living room."Grace stood when Liam entered. He noticed immediately that she looked different. Still nervous. Still pale. But there was something steadier in the way she held herself.
"Thank you for coming," he said.She managed a weak smile. "I almost didn’t."
"I know."No lecture. No attempt to convince her. Just understanding. Oddly, that made sitting back down easier.
The folders spread across the coffee table looked almost ordinary. Financial statements. Property records. Wire transfers. Company registrations. Nothing dramatic. Just paper.
Rowena opened the top folder. "We finished tracing the Eastbridge transfers." She slid several highlighted pages across the table. "The money didn’t disappear."
Liam leaned forward. "It moved."Rowena nodded. "Three shell companies." She pointed to another page. "They all lead back here."
Evelyn adjusted her glasses. "Harrison signed off on every one of them."Grace stared at the documents. "He always made someone else sign."
"He thought he did." Rowena reached for a flash drive. "He forgot digital records don’t care whose name is on the paperwork."
Liam picked up another sheet. The dates lined up perfectly. Board resignations. Bribe payments. Contract approvals. One timeline. One pattern. No coincidence.
For the first time, the case looked less like revenge and more like mathematics.Grace quietly broke the silence. "If I testify... will this actually be enough?"
Liam didn’t answer immediately. He considered the question. Then shook his head. "No."Grace blinked. "No?"
"No single witness wins a case like this." He placed the papers back onto the table. "But evidence wins." He tapped the folders. "Documents. The transfers. The recordings. And witnesses willing to tell the truth."
He met her eyes. "You aren’t carrying this case alone.The room fell quiet again. Grace lowered her eyes. "So... I’m not the whole fight."
"No." Liam’s voice stayed calm. "But you’re the part that matters most.
Outside, rain finally began falling for real. Water rolled slowly down the tall windows. Grace listened to it for nearly a minute.
Then, very carefully, she exhaled. "I’m tired." No one interrupted. "I’m tired of looking over my shoulder." She laughed once. It sounded exhausted more than amused. "I’m tired of pretending none of it happened."
Another long silence. Then she looked directly at Liam. "If I do this... there’s no going back."
"No."And Harrison will come after me.Probably". My son may never forgive me."Liam didn’t soften the truth. "He might not."
Grace closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the fear was still there. But it no longer seemed to own her.
She reached for the folder. Pulled it toward herself. Then nodded. "I’ll testify."
Nobody spoke. Not because they were surprised. Because they understood how much those two words had cost.
Evelyn quietly reached across the table and squeezed Grace’s hand. Rowena let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Liam simply nodded. "Thank you."
Grace smiled weakly. Don’t thank me yet."I wasn’t."She looked at him. "I was thanking you for deciding."
Across town, Damien was finishing his shift when his phone buzzed.
Marcus: Coffee later?. Damien stared at the message. He hesitated. Then typed back. Sure.
The café Marcus had chosen wasn’t busy. He was already seated when Damien arrived.
"No beer today?" Marcus asked.I’ve got work tomorrow."Marcus smiled. "Probably a good habit."
The waitress took their orders before either of them spoke again. Marcus waited until she walked away.
"So." He stirred his coffee absentmindedly. "How’s your mother?"Damien shrugged. "The same."
"I guess."You guess?"She called this morning."Marcus looked up. "And?"
"Nothing." Damien leaned back. "She sounded..." He searched for the word. "...different."Marcus didn’t interrupt.
I think she already went to meet her friend.What makes you think that?"
"I’ve known her my whole life." Damien stared into his coffee.Marcus nodded slowly. "I understand." He didn’t ask another question. He didn’t need to. Sometimes people filled silence better than questions ever could.
They spent another twenty minutes talking about work, football, and rising rent prices before parting ways outside the café.
Marcus watched Damien disappear into the evening crowd. Only then did he pull out his phone.
Marcus: She spoke to him this morning .he believe that she already went to meet her anonymous friend. But I believe she’s made her decision.
The message sent instantly. A minute later, his phone rang. Devon.Marcus answered. "I’ve already sent the update."I saw it," Devon replied. A pause. "Good work."
Marcus waited. Devon rarely called just to offer praise.Stay close to the boy," Devon continued. "Don’t push him.
I wasn’t planning to."Good." Devon’s voice remained calm. "The useful ones are the people who never realize they’ve been used."
The line went dead.
Marcus slipped the phone back into his pocket without another word. For the first time since this assignment had begun, the pieces were starting to move.