Chapter 7 - Jessica’s Last MoveJessica contacted me directly.
Encrypted video call.
She looked calm.
“Cassidy.”
“Jessica.”
“You ruined everything.”
Interesting interpretation.
“You infiltrated my subsidiary.”
“I exposed your weaknesses.”
“You stole.”
“So did the Morrisons.”
“Yes.”
“And they’ll answer for it.”
She smiled.
“Even Brendan?”
“Especially Brendan.”
That surprised her.
She had expected sentiment.
People often mistake compassion for the inability to draw boundaries.
Then Jessica said:
“You think your grandmother built an empire because she was moral?”
“No.”
That stopped her.
“I’ve read the history.”
Hartwell Global was not spotless.
No multigenerational corporation of that size was.
My grandmother had made brutal decisions.
Closed plants.
Crushed competitors.
Settled labor disputes aggressively.
I did not need sainthood to protect the company from fraud.
Jessica continued.
“My father lost everything because Eleanor wanted control.”
“Your father falsified valuations.”
“According to Eleanor.”
“According to three independent audits.”
Her jaw tightened.
Then she revealed her leverage.
A signed document.
Brendan had pledged future Morrison Financial stock compensation to Redwood as collateral.
If enforceable, Victor Vale’s entity could claim a large position in the subsidiary.
Arthur studied it.
Then smiled.
“What?”
He turned to me.
“It’s worthless.”
Jessica’s expression changed.
Why?
Because Protocol Seven had frozen the underlying compensation before vesting.
Brendan had pledged shares he did not yet own.
She had built years of planning on an asset that vanished ten minutes after I sent three words.
Jessica ended the call.
Federal agents arrested her two days later at a private airfield.
Victor Vale was arrested the same week.
Neither had expected Brendan’s stolen phone metadata to reveal their location.
The man they considered stupid—
May you like
was stupid in one final useful way.
He never disabled location sharing.
