Chapter 9 - Echoes from the Federal Penitentiary
Six hundred miles away, in the stark, concrete intake facility of the federal correctional complex, the atmosphere was a far cry from the opulent halls of Blackthorn Manor.
Nathan Ashford paced the perimeter of his ten-by-twelve cell, his fingernails chewed down to the quick. His tailored suit had long since been replaced by a coarse orange jumpsuit, and the arrogant sneer that had once defined his face had collapsed into a permanent, bitter scowl.
The heavy steel door clanked open, and a correctional officer rapped his baton against the bars. “Ashford. Visitor. Booth four.”
Nathan’s heart leaped with a desperate, pathetic flash of hope. He assumed it was his defense attorney bringing news of an overturned injunction or a breakthrough appeal. He hurried down the corridor, sliding onto the metal stool inside the visitation booth and grabbing the heavy plastic receiver.
Through the reinforced glass, a woman sat waiting. It wasn't a lawyer.
Celeste, dressed in matching prison blues, picked up her own receiver on the other side. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, devoid of makeup, her eyes hollow and filled with a cold, murderous fury.
“You told me the offshore accounts were untraceable, Nathan,” Celeste hissed through the speaker, her voice vibrating with venom. “You swore on everything you had that Victor Vance would never look past the front door.”
Nathan slammed his fist against the glass. “Shut up, Celeste! It was your sloppy paperwork with the shell corporations that gave the feds the initial paper trail! If you hadn’t tried to embezzle an extra million behind my back—!”
“Quiet down, inmates!” a guard shouted, stepping up behind Celeste with a heavy hand on his belt.
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Celeste didn't break eye contact with Nathan, her expression twisting into a mask of pure hatred. “We are ruined, Nathan. Every asset, every home, every cent is gone. And while we rot in this concrete box, Evelyn is sitting on the sixty-fifth floor running the entire empire.”
She slammed the receiver down onto its cradle, cutting off the connection, and let the guards drag her back down the cell block, leaving Nathan alone with the suffocating reality of his own destruction.
